


Blind

by Aniimone



Series: Eternal [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anbu Uchiha Sasuke, Angst, Birthday Party, Children, Chuunin Exams, Dates, Drinking, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Jokes, Light Angst, Love, M/M, Orphans, Porn, Post-War, Sasuke gets genin, Secret Relationship, Somebody finally builds an orphanage in Konoha, oneshot continuation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2018-12-16 15:08:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 45,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11831289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aniimone/pseuds/Aniimone
Summary: After Naruto and Sasuke sort out their feelings for each other and begin a relationship, the real trouble comes with keeping it secret. In the end, is it really worth hiding their love, or will they risk the council thinking Naruto's emotions got in his way when he pleaded for them to save Sasuke's life, and trying to lock him away again because of it?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's here! The big sequel! Updates on Saturdays. I highly recommend re-reading (or reading) [Oblivious](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10380711) before you start this. Enjoy! :)

Naruto stares out the window of his office while he’s taking a break from the mountains of documents he has to finish reviewing and stamping. He sighs.

Sasuke said he would start hanging out with everyone. That’s good. Now Naruto just has to keep their relationship a secret. He hears a knock on the door to his office and tells the other person to come in.

“Naruto, are you okay?” Shikamaru’s voice asks worriedly. “You’ve been even less focused on work than usual lately. Did something happen between you and Sasuke?”

Naruto keeps looking at the cliffs outside. Sometimes, Shikamaru’s intelligence can be dangerous when someone close to him wants to keep a secret.

“No,” Naruto lies.

“Hm? Alright. Well, whatever. These documents need authorization to build something downtown,” Shikamaru replies.

Naruto sighs again and spins his seat around. He takes the documents and sets them on one of the “unfinished” piles. Those stacks are noticeably taller than the “finished” stacks. Shikamaru raises an eyebrow at his friend.

“Sakura said you’ve gone out drinking with Sasuke a couple of times. And you two sparred yesterday.”

Naruto shrugs.

“We talked a little. Not about anything important. I convinced him to start hanging out with the rest of us, though,” he says.

“Really?” Shikamaru asks.

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s good,” Shikamaru claims.

Naruto nods.

“I’ll let you get back to work. See you around,” his friend tells him, walking out.

Naruto watches him go. Then he glares at the papers around him and starts to move through them again.

~+~+~+~+~

Sasuke just got back from the grocery store and finished putting everything away when he hears a knock on the door. He rolls his eyes and goes to get it, expecting Naruto.

“Naruto, shouldn’t you be--” Sasuke stops himself when he sees that it’s not Naruto, but Shikamaru on his doorstep. “Nara. Is there something wrong?”

Shikamaru gives him an odd look.

“No. Were you expecting someone?” he asks.

Sasuke keeps his expression neutral.

“Of course not. Come in.”

He moves away from the door to let Shikamaru inside.

“What can I do for you?” Sasuke asks, tone dull.

“Well, Naruto’s birthday is coming up,” Shikamaru replies casually, noticing the way Sasuke’s posture shifts. “Most of us who are in town have started planning a surprise party for him. I talked to him today. He said he’s convinced you to come out with us once in awhile. I was wondering if you’d join us for this.”

“Why would I do that?” Sasuke retorts.

“Well, he might want you there,” Shikamaru suggests with a shrug.

“Hn. Fine. When and where are we going?” he asks.

Shikamaru smiles slightly.

“We’re taking him out drinking at the club near the main markets. There’s a restaurant near it where we’ll go first. You should be there around eight at night in two days. Everyone should be waiting there by the time Sakura brings him by at 8:30,” Shikamaru tells him. “Oh, and I don’t suggest making plans for the day after. I don’t think Sakura’s going to let you leave early if you do come.”

“Hn.”

“So, you’ll be there?” Shikamaru asks.

“Unless I get a mission before then, yes.”

“Good. I’m glad you and Naruto have gotten back on good terms,” Shikamaru says.

Sasuke doesn’t reply.

Shikamaru leaves. Sasuke makes some tomato onigiri for lunch and eats them, looking out the window. He smirks at Naruto’s stone face in the cliffs, recently added to the hokages before him; including his father, the woman who treated him like her own grandson, and his teacher.

Hokage tower is visible as well, the red paint standing out. Sasuke smiles to himself. Naruto’s birthday is in three days, but the party is in two. No doubt, he won’t expect any presents, which is all the more reason to give him something. The only question is what to give him. Sasuke glances around at his apartment. He finishes the onigiri and leaves, locking the door behind him.

Sasuke crosses town through the streets. He finally stands in front of the entrance to the place, marked off with Caution tape. He steps across, feeling a chill move down his spine as he does. No one passes this way anymore. Most of them even go a block out of their way to avoid it. Sasuke included, for the most part.

He picks his way past the ruined buildings, ignoring the memories that flash through his mind. He gets to his old house and hesitates with a hand on the door. From the outside, the only damage seems to be a few cracks and vines. He opens the door and steps into his old family home.

Sasuke freezes. He feels emotions flood through him. The bloodstain from his parents’ death is wiped away but he can still see it there. Sasuke manages to keep walking and makes it to his parents room. He opens his mother’s jewelry cabinet and picks up the necklace he came here for.

It’s a dark blue gem set in silver on a thin chain. Sasuke holds it up and stares at it, his eyes burning. He pockets it and glances around.

The house seems about the same as the night he left it to train under Orochimaru, with a little bit of mold and an old smell. He walks through the other rooms, finally reaching his own. He sees the small picture from his younger days on his old dresser and picks it up. He blows off the dust and smiles at it. His 12-year-old self is glaring at the camera with his hands in his pockets. Naruto is glaring at him with crossed arms. Sakura is posing sweetly between them, and behind them all stands Kakashi. His hands are on Sasuke and Naruto’s heads, keeping them in place. Sasuke keeps holding on to the photo when he leaves. When he returns to his apartment, he sets it on his nightstand. Then he takes the necklace out of his pocket and lays it beside the photograph.

~+~+~+~+~

At work, Naruto is dutifully completing his paperwork, oblivious as always to his friends’ plans. In fact, he has all but forgotten that his birthday is tomorrow. It won’t be until Sakura comes in at about eight to persuade him to go out with her for a drink that he really remembers.

“You know, you really don’t have to do this for me,” Naruto tells her for the third time as they stop outside the noisy restaurant.

“Nonsense, of course I do. You’re my friend, it’d be ridiculous if I didn’t do something for your birthday!” Sakura retorts. “Now, go on in!”

She pushes him and he stumbles through the entrance and stops, staring wide-eyed at his friends as they all stand up and cheer, “Happy birthday!”

Naruto looks around. Kiba, Shikamaru, Temari, Choji, Karui, Ino, Sai, and even Hinata are here. Shino, Tenten, and Lee are out of the village on a mission, but Naruto is sure they would be here too if they could. Then he sees Sasuke standing with his arms crossed, a little farther from the others, and Naruto’s grin widens.

“Thank you,” he tells them all. “Really.”

“It’s the least we could do, after all those times you saved us and Konoha,” Ino says.

“Here, have a drink,” Kiba suggests, handing him a pint of beer with a grin.

Laughing, Naruto takes it and sips it.

“This is great, guys,” he tells his friends.

Naruto takes a seat as all his other friends sit down as well. Sasuke is on his right, Sakura on his left. A waiter brings them some food and Choji puts the meat on the barbeque to cook. Naruto’s friends question him about work and what he’s been doing outside of it lately. Naruto mostly just laughs and asks if they have to talk about work right now, saying that all he ever does is paperwork and sleep.

“Sasuke, you’ve been dead silent the whole time!” Ino comments after about an hour, once everyone but Choji is finished eating.

“There’s not much to say,” he replies calmly.

“Oh, come on, tell us how you’ve been! What you’ve been doing!” Ino says.

“I’m fine, and I’ve been on missions for the most part,” he answers, taking a sip of his sake.

“But what about around Konoha? When you aren’t out on missions,” Kiba prompts.

“I haven’t been doing anything,” he claims.

“You and Naruto were at the training grounds the other day,” Sai mentions.

Sasuke shoots him a glare and Naruto looks at Sasuke seriously.

“Yes. We sparred,” Sasuke replies, an edge to his voice.

“Alright,” Sai says calmly.

The others at the table look at Sasuke and Naruto strangely. Sasuke sighs and drinks some more sake. This is going to be a long night.

After Sakura splits the bill with Choji and Shikamaru, the group migrates down the street to a popular club called Bacchikoi, where Sakura drags Naruto onto the dance floor. Kiba and Hinata go as well. Sai is sketching against a wall, Ino looking over his shoulder. Choji and Karui went home after dinner. Shikamaru and Temari are dancing together too. Sasuke orders another drink at the bar and sits down to sip at it, watching his old friends have fun.

He knows that if he wants to give Naruto the gift, he’ll have to talk to him alone. The easiest way to do so would be to help him home at the end of the night. Sasuke might as well keep drinking to make it easier for himself until then.

Sasuke waits (and drinks) until Naruto stumbles back to the bar with Sakura yet again. They’re giggling and blushing with the alcohol in their blood and the adrenaline from dancing. Sasuke feels a hint of jealousy in his gut and briefly considers using the Sharingan on Sakura before he remembers that he’s different now, and that she is no longer his enemy. Not to mention, Naruto is his.

They ask the bartender for more drinks, but he cuts them off, making a joke about the Hokage drinking a lot even if it is his birthday. This prompts Naruto to laugh and mention the fifth hokage’s drinking habits. Sasuke sets down his empty glass and walks over to them.

“I think it’s time for you to go home,” he suggests.

“Sasuke, why’re you so mean?” Sakura slurs, giggling afterwards.

He rolls his eyes.

“Let’s go. Everyone else already went home anyway,” he tells them.

“You’re no fun!” Naruto whines.

Sasuke sighs.

“I feel like your babysitter,” he mutters.

Sakura tries to take a step and stumbles. Sasuke steadies her.

“Okay, I’ll go home,” she agrees. “But I can get there on my own.”

“Alright,” Sasuke replies.

Good, that means she’s out of the way.

“Naruto?” he asks.

“Hm. I live far away. Sasuke, you should walk me home,” Naruto replies, eyes dark.

Already resigned to walking a drunk Naruto back to his place halfway across Konoha, Sasuke agrees. Sakura leaves the club ahead of them and walks towards her house, the opposite direction. Sasuke lets Naruto drape his arm around Sasuke’s shoulders and supports him with his only arm as they walk.

Naruto hums some dumb song, occasionally muttering lyrics that have something to do with frogs. Sasuke grits his teeth until they finally make it to the building and start to walk towards Naruto’s apartment on the third floor. They stop outside it and Naruto stumbles for his keys. Sasuke takes them from him and unlocks the door for him when Naruto misses the keyhole for the fourth time. He helps Naruto to his bed and Naruto kicks off his shoes. Sasuke helps him hang up his cloak and get into bed.

“Sasuke, did I ever tell you?” Naruto asks, looking up at him while Sasuke tries to pull the covers over him. “You’re really pretty. You’re really pretty Sasuke.”

“Go to sleep, you idiot,” Sasuke tells him.

“Hm, what if I don’t want to?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke looks him in the eye. Naruto’s eyes are half-lidded and slightly glazed over, but Sasuke has had too much to drink. He lets Naruto sit up and drape his arms around Sasuke’s neck to pull him close.

“Your breath stinks of alcohol,” Sasuke breathes.

“So does yours,” Naruto replies.

Their lips brush and they close their eyes, closing the rest of the distance. Naruto pushes off Sasuke’s cloak and pulls him over himself on the bed. He flips their positions and starts kissing down the side of Sasuke’s neck. He unzips Sasuke’s shirt and starts to run one of his hands along Sasuke’s pale skin. His other is tangled in Sasuke’s hair.

“N-Naruto,” Sasuke says softly. “We… we can’t. Not like this. You’re drunk, you can’t think straight.”

“You’ve been drinking too. As long as we both want it, what difference does it make?” Naruto murmurs in Sasuke’s ear.

Then he bites the shell, drawing a shuddering gasp from Sasuke.

“Shut up, usuratonkachi,” Sasuke breathes, closing his eyes. “Stop it.”

The longer this goes on, the less sure Sasuke becomes that this would be a bad idea.

“We’ve barely been dating for a week,” Sasuke tells him.

“How many times have you touched yourself to his exact kind of scenario?” Naruto asks huskily.

“Too many to count,” Sasuke admits quietly.

“Me too. So why don’t you want this?” Naruto inquires, stopping and looking at him.

“I do want it, but we should do it when both of us are drunk,” Sasuke replies.

His breathing is shallow and his cheeks are flushed. Naruto bites his lip.

“Okay. If that’s what you want,” he replies.

He starts to untangle himself and Sasuke sits up. Naruto puts his hand on the door and is about to turn the knob when Sasuke stands.

“Fuck it,” he growls.

Naruto turns just in time to have his back pressed against the door. Sasuke kisses him and locks the door. They stumble back to Naruto’s bed and fall onto it.

“Sasuke,” Naruto murmurs against his lips.

Sasuke hums in response.

Naruto freezes and for a moment, Sasuke wonders if he did something wrong. Then he feels something warm and damp fall on his face and looks up. Naruto is crying. Sasuke wipes away the tears and asks him what’s wrong.

“It just hit me that you’re really mine… after all this time,” Naruto murmurs.

Sasuke pulls him down again and crashes their mouths together. When they separate, he keeps their foreheads pressed together.

“I won’t leave you again, Naruto. I promise.”

Naruto sniffs and buries his head in Sasuke’s shoulder. Sasuke awkwardly strokes the top of his head. Before long, Naruto’s sobs turn into snores and Sasuke looks at him.

“Idiot,” he mutters.

He eases Naruto off himself and under the covers. He hesitates and plants a kiss on Naruto’s forehead. He zips up his shirt and puts his cloak back on. Then he crosses the room and glances at Naruto’s copy of their photo from their genin days. He pulls his mother’s necklace from his pocket and picks up a scrap of paper and a pen. He writes a quick note before he leaves through the window.

Sasuke gets home and sighs. He hangs up his cloak and takes off his shoes. He crosses the apartment and closes the blinds. Then he heads to the bathroom and strips while the shower heats up. He glances at his reflection and notices a hickey developing above his collarbone. He sighs again and steps under the stream of warm water.

He remembers the predatory look in Naruto’s eyes and the way his body felt and starts to get hard again. He works through the scenario the way he hoped it would have gone and eventually brings himself over the edge. He leans against the wall and lets his mess get washed down the drain.

Afterwards, Sasuke cleans himself off and turns off the water before he steps out of the shower. He dries off and walks back into the main room of his apartment. He puts on a clean pair of boxers, a t-shirt, and a pair of sweatpants before he returns to the bathroom. Sasuke brushes his teeth, dries his hair, and takes his folded clothes back to his room where he throws them in his hamper.

Sasuke turns off his lights and climbs into bed. He falls asleep quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bless Sakura's magical hangover tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some lowkey NaruHina/NaruSaku but trust me when I say it doesn't last long, and it has a point.

In the morning, Naruto wakes up with a groan and a hangover. He cracks his eyes open and blinks blearily in the sunlight pouring through his window. He sits up slowly, cradling his head. After the pounding subsides a bit, he slowly stands up and crosses the room to his dresser. He doesn’t remember much from after they got to the bar except bits and pieces of dancing with Sakura. He has no idea how he got home last night. Then he sees a note and a shining necklace on top of his dresser near the old photograph of team 7 when they were kids. He picks up the note and squints at it.

“Naruto. I’m sure you’ll see this when you wake up. Happy birthday. This necklace was my mother’s. I thought you might like it. --Sasuke”

Naruto takes a better look at the necklace. It’s beautiful. He puts it on. He smiles and sets the note back down. He feels his stomach turn over and rushes to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time for the contents of his stomach to empty themselves. He decides that it’s best to call in sick to work for now as he heaves a second time, carefully avoiding getting anything on his clothes or his necklaces.

He sits on the floor with his back against the bathroom wall while he regains his breath. Sasuke must have walked him home. Based on the fact that Naruto woke up alone and in his clothes, it seems like nothing serious happened. Naruto hears a knock on his front door and slowly stands up. He crosses his apartment to open it.

“Shika,” he croaks.

Shikamaru gives him a pitying look and steps past him into the apartment. He takes off his shoes by the door and sits at Naruto’s dining room table. Naruto sits across from him.

“Sakura asked me to bring this over,” Shikamaru says, handing Naruto a thermos.

Grateful, Naruto takes it and sniffs. It’s Sakura’s hangover cure. Wonderful. He starts to sip it.

“So, what happened after I left?” Shikamaru asks.

“When did you and Temari leave?” Naruto retorts.

“After Sai and Ino. Before Sakura, Sasuke, and you,” Shikamaru replies.

“Ah. Sorry, I don’t remember. I know that Sakura and I danced for a while, but I don’t remember how I got home,” Naruto admits.

“Hm. Did Sasuke give you anything for your birthday?” Shikamaru asks.

“Yeah.”

“That’s good. Are you coming to work today?”

“Probably,” Naruto replies.

“Alright. Then, good luck. Quite a few people left you gifts, by the way,” Shikamaru tells him, standing to leave.

“Great,” Naruto grumbles.

Shikamaru laughs and puts on his shoes.

“If you want some help clearing it out, just give me a call,” he offers.

“Thanks, Shika. See you later,” Naruto responds.

Shikamaru nods once and leaves. Naruto finishes Sakura’s tea and changes his clothes. Then he starts to walk to Hokage Tower.

~+~+~+~+~

Sasuke wakes up in his bed with a pounding headache and a dry mouth. He sits up and waits for the dizziness to subside before he stands. He goes to the kitchen and makes himself some toast. He sits on the floor at his dining table to eat it.

Halfway through his meal, someone knocks on his door. He sighs and stands. He crosses the room. He opens the door and sees Sakura. She blinks when she sees him.

“Um,” she says.

“Yes?” he asks, blocking the doorway.

“I… I came by to give you this. It’s tea. It should help with your hangover,” she tells him.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she says. “May I come in?”

She tries to peer around him and he leans in her way a little more.

“Why?” he asks.

“Well, I’m your friend. I figured you might want someone to make you breakfast or something,” she replies.

“I’m fine,” he tells her.

“Alright. Um… Do you have any idea how Naruto or I got home last night?” she inquires.

“No. Sorry,” he answers.

“Alright. Then, I won’t bother you any more. Goodbye,” she says.

She bows slightly and hands him a thermos. Then she turns away and leaves. He closes the door and looks into the thermos. It looks like normal tea, but it smells incredible. He takes a sip and blinks, surprised. It’s a little too sweet, but still delicious. The more he drinks, the less his head hurts, too.

He sits back down at his table and finishes the tea with his breakfast.

After he clears the table and does the dishes, Sasuke gets dressed. He glances down at the remains of his left arm. The end is scarred over. He smiles fondly at the memory of his last fight with Naruto. How they woke up as the sun rose, side by side and bleeding out, but finally friends again. He remembers how happy he was to just be there, at Naruto’s side. Back then, he didn’t care if he lived or died, just that Naruto was there.

And somehow, he still is.

Sasuke tries to recall last night’s events. He remembers Sakura and Naruto dancing the night away, and he remembers everyone but the three of them leaving. After that, he vaguely remembers helping Naruto home, and he knows that something happened when they got to Naruto’s apartment. Evidently, nothing major, seeing as they woke up separately.

Sasuke goes to the bathroom and checks his neck while he brushes his teeth. There is a light bruise near his collarbone, but he can pass it off as an accident. Nonetheless, he should make it clear to Naruto that they shouldn’t leave marks if they really intend to keep their secret for very long. Sasuke pulls his collar up a little to cover the mark. Then he grabs his cloak and leaves.

Sasuke storms through Hokage Tower with one destination clear in his eyes. All of the shinobi he encounters on his way step out his way quickly.

As he passes Naruto’s secretary, she tries to say something to him, but squeaks when he sends her a glare. He opens the door and slams it behind him. Naruto jumps in his seat and looks up at him.

“S-Sasuke, what are you--?”

“What is this, usuratonkachi?” Sasuke asks calmly, pulling down his collar to show the hickey.

Naruto swallows.

“Sasuke, I-I don’t know, I swear. I don’t remember anything after Sai left,” he answers.

Sasuke sighs and readjusts his collar.

“Fine. We have to be careful though, you know that. I think Sakura might be onto us,” he says.

“What makes you think that?”

“She came to my place this morning to bring me some tea. She might have seen it.”

“Oh.”

“Just don’t let it happen again,” Sasuke warns.

“Ordering the hokage around now, huh?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke gives him a dark look as he turns away.

“My apologies, Hokage-sama,” he replies.

Naruto grins and Sasuke leaves.

This time he notices the ninja that he passes staring at him and he walks a little faster.

~+~+~+~+~

“Naruto-san?” Naruto’s secretary asks, peeking through the door after Sasuke left.

“What is it?”

“I know it’s none of my business, but if you don’t mind, why did Uchiha-sama come in here just now?” she asks.

“Sasuke just wanted to talk to me about something,” Naruto replies, clasping his hands on top of his desk.

She opens her mouth to speak again, but closes it and nods once before she opens it again.

“Sir, the analyzing team has finished their assignment. They’re ready to see you,” she tells him.

“Thank you. Summon them for me, please.”

She bows again and leaves. A few minutes later, a group of ANBU appear in front of Naruto’s desk. They exchange greetings before one of them hands him a map that he spreads out on his desk.

“We have determined that the leaders of each branch of the organization will be in a building at the marked location in three days. Their security will be tight, but they shouldn’t expect Konoha to have figured out their location yet, if Sasuke Uchiha’s identity remained uncompromised,” another one states.

“I see. Thank you. You’re dismissed,” Naruto responds.

They disappear and Naruto inspects the map. It should take a squad a day and a half to travel the marked distance. He takes out a notepad and starts making a list of possible shinobi to send. He needs ones who can carry out a mission silently. In the end, he narrows it down to a strike force of four.

He asks his secretary to call them in and waits until they all come into his office.

“Hinata, Shino, Sai, and Sasuke. I have a mission for the five of you,” Naruto states.

“Yes sir,” they respond.

“We have determined that the heads of the organization we’ve been tracking will be in the building marked on this map in three days. Your purpose is to eliminate them all. Sasuke, you will be in charge of this mission,” he explains.

“Yes, sir.”

He hands Sasuke the map and tells them all, “You should leave tomorrow morning. It should take you a day and a half to get there. That gives you some time to get the building’s layout and set traps if you decide to. You’re dismissed.”

They nod and leave, but Hinata stays behind, looking nervous.

“N-Naruto-kun, would you like to get lunch with me?” she asks.

“Sure,” he responds.

He stands up and creates a clone to take his place before he follows her out. They walk downtown and stop at Ichiraku. They order and Hinata turns to him.

“Um… Naruto, there’s something… I need to tell you,” she says anxiously, looking at her lap.

“Hm? What is it?” he asks, trying to get a look at her face.

She glances up and looks him in the eye.

“Do you remember the day you told me you didn’t love me back?” she asks.

Naruto does. He remembers the day she confessed to him in front of Pain, and how conflicted and confused he felt back then. Then later, when Sakura tried to set them up, how he had to explain that even though she is gorgeous, he needed to focus more on his career.

“Yes,” he answers.

“Naruto, I want to ask… Is there someone you loved instead? Is that why you don’t want me?” she asks.

Naruto hesitates. Looking at his hands, he replies, “Yes.”

“Oh,” she says, looking down again. “Is it Sakura?”

Naruto can’t say no or Hinata might figure it out, and Naruto can’t risk that.

“I knew it. Forget it. Of course you love her. I was just being stupid,” she says.

She laughs bitterly and stands. He grabs her wrist and pulls her back.

“Hinata, it has nothing to do with you. You’re perfect, and I’m sure you’ll make someone very happy one day,” he says.

“Let go of me, Naruto,” she tells him quietly, looking away. 

He drops her wrist and she turns away.

“You can have my meal,” she tells him.

Then she’s gone, leaving Naruto and two steaming bowls of ramen behind.

~+~+~+~

Later that day, Naruto heads to Sasuke’s after work. Sasuke glares at him when he opens the door, but Naruto pushes past him and into the apartment.

“We need to talk,” Naruto says, taking off his shoes.

Sasuke sits down on one of the mats around his dining table and Naruto sits down at the adjacent one.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Sasuke asks. “I have a mission tomorrow.”

“I know. Hinata asked me out to lunch. Before we started eating, she… she asked me if I turned her down before because I was in love with someone else.”

“What did you tell her?” Sasuke questions.

“I just told her that I did, and she thinks it’s Sakura,” Naruto replies.

Sasuke nods.

“I feel guilty,” Naruto admits, clasping his hands together on the tabletop.

“Don’t. It’s not your fault and there’s nothing you can do. You should head home, before someone realizes where you are,” Sasuke tells him.

“Aw, come on, bastard! I wanted to talk about this a little more,” Naruto replies.

Sasuke sighs.

“What else is there to talk about?” he asks.

“Well, what if someone does find out about us?” Naruto retorts.

“If we’re careful, no one will.”

“I know, but what if someone does?” Naruto inquires.

“Then we kill them and flee the country,” Sasuke says.

“I’m serious, bastard!”

“So am I,” Sasuke retorts, but the amusement in his eyes betrays his words.

“Alright, then I’ll just ask them to keep it a secret, alright?” Naruto tells him.

“That sounds fine. Now go,” Sasuke says.

He puts his shoes back on and has his hand on the doorknob before Sasuke speaks up again.

“Goodbye, Hokage-sama.”

Naruto smiles to himself and leaves.

Naruto wakes up to his obnoxiously loud alarm and sits up groggily. He was having a nice dream where he and Sasuke were on a walk together. All of their friends were lined up along the street. Sasuke and Naruto walked down the road, hand in hand, without any fear of discovery. Naruto sighs as he realizes that it was just a dream after all.

He slides out of bed and gets dressed. He makes his bed and puts on Sasuke’s necklace before he eats breakfast and leaves.

He heads to Hokage Tower and greets Shikamaru, his secretary, and other shinobi along the way to his office. When he enters, he sighs at the packages and stacks of paper on his desk. He starts to move them out of his way but pauses when he sees gifts from his friends. He opens the one from Sakura first and sees that she gave him a simple card along with a jar of tea bags. He opens it and sniffs. It’s her hangover cure. Man, she’s the best.

Then Naruto opens Hinata’s gift; it’s a red scarf. He smiles, remembering the day he tried to defend her from bullies when they were kids. Still, he’s made his choice. Sasuke is the one he loves.

Next is a present from Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji combined. He opens it and chuckles. They gave him a “free meal voucher” for Ichiraku ramen.

The last gift he opens is from Iruka. It’s a picture of Naruto’s parents. The card reads, “Naruto. I’m sorry I don’t have much to give you, but I found this and thought you might like to keep it.”

Naruto smiles and feels his eyes burning with tears. He tucks the card away and looks at the photo. His mom and dad are dancing together on one of the training fields. They look so blissful. The photograph is old. Naruto props the photo up against one of his stacks of paperwork and smiles at it one more time.

Some of Naruto’s friends didn’t get him anything, which he isn’t upset about. Them simply recognizing it was a gift in itself. He puts the rest of the gifts on the floor to take home and open later.

Then he starts to work.

~+~+~+~

Kakashi comes in around midday and Naruto looks up. He breaks into a grin when he sees who it is.

“Kakashi-sensei! How are you?” Naruto asks.

“Good, good. I’m sorry I’m late, but happy birthday,” Kakashi replies, handing Naruto a wrapped box.

Naruto accepts it and looks at it curiously.

“Go ahead,” Kakashi prompts.

Naruto grins and tears open the wrapping. He laughs at the gift. It’s a mug that originally read, “Best Dad”, but the “Dad” was crossed out and “Hokage” was written above it in red.

“Thanks, ya know,” Naruto tells him.

Kakashi smiles behind his mask.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work,” he says.

“See you around!” Naruto replies.

Kakashi waves and leaves. Naruto glances at his computer and opens it. He sifts through his inbox and is surprised to find an email from Gaara saying that he’ll be making a trip to Konoha a few days from now. Slightly surprised, Naruto begins making preparations for the kazekage’s arrival.

~+~+~+~

Three days later, Gaara is staying in Konoha’s nicest hotel and Naruto is awaiting Sasuke’s return. It was easier than usual this time to be apart from Sasuke because now he knows that Sasuke is going to come back unless the worst happens. 

Naruto has been prompted by some of his ANBU officers and even by Shikamaru to promote Sasuke to ANBU, and he’s decided to offer the position to him.

Naruto has lunch scheduled with the kazekage and his secretary reminds him. He thanks her and stands up from his desk. He summons a clone to take his place during his break. Then he heads out towards the restaurant they agreed to meet at. It is near Gaara’s hotel and is famous for its steak. Naruto shows up and a host leads him to where Gaara is sitting, reading a menu. Naruto takes the seat opposite him and Gaara glances up. He smiles slightly.

“Long time, no see,” Gaara comments.

“Yeah, you too! How have you been?” Naruto asks, picking up his menu.

“I’m fine, how are you?”

“Good, I’m good. So, do you know what you’re gonna order?” Naruto asks.

“I think I’ll try the steak. It’s supposed to be famous, after all,” Gaara replies, setting down his menu.

“Yeah, me too,” Naruto responds.

Naruto closes his menu and a waiter comes over to them almost immediately. He offers them some more time but they tell him that they’re ready to order. They ask for drinks and two orders of steak. Once their server is gone, they face each other again.

“How is Suna doing?” Naruto asks.

“Quite well,” Gaara states. “How are your friends?”

“They’re great! Some of them are out on mission right now though,” Naruto replies.

“I see. How is Konoha? It seems to be quite busy,” Gaara says.

“Yeah!” Naruto agrees. “It’s doing well too. We’ve had a bit of a technology boom in recent years.”

“So have we,” Gaara replies.

They sit in comfortable silence for a minute. Gaara beaks it.

“Have you found anyone special?”

“Um… It’s kind of complicated,” Naruto responds nervously.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Hinata likes me, but I like someone else. She thinks it’s Sakura, but it’s not,” Naruto replies. “Sakura might like me too, but I don’t know.”

“Sounds complex,” Gaara comments.

“Yeah, it is,” Naruto agrees.

“So, who do you like?” Gaara asks.

“I can’t really tell you,” Naruto says. “Sorry, it’s just… it wouldn’t really be safe for the public to know about us.”

“Safe for who? You or them?”

“Hi-- them,” Naruto replies.

Gaara nods.

“So, it’s Sasuke then?” he asks quietly.

Naruto startles and stammers. Gaara smirks at him.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it would be too surprising for anyone else to guess,” Gaara reassures him.

“But how did you--?”

“The only person besides Sakura who you seem to have been interested in, who you spent years trying to bring back to your village. That is more than even brotherly love, even if your way of the ninja is to never give up,” Gaara states.

Naruto shuts up and sulks until the waiter brings them their drinks. They thank him and start to sip at them.

“Well, if it’s so obvious to you, what do you think would happen if the Fire Nation council knew?” Naruto asks.

“I think they might imprison him again, worst-case. Best case scenario, they let him live out the rest of his life peacefully with you,” Gaara responds.

“I know that, but what do you think will happen?”

“Well, I don’t know the council well. Tell me about them,” Gaara replies.

“Hm. Nevermind. I guess the only way to discover how they’ll react is when they find out. As long as Konoha accepts it, we should be fine. They can’t touch us if I oppose them,” Naruto says.

“I suppose not.”

The waiter brings them their steaks and they start eating after he leaves.

“This is good!” Naruto says.

Gaara nods his agreement.

“What’s your favorite food?” Naruto asks.

“Hm? I guess I like these dough sweets we have in Suna. What’s yours?” Gaara replies.

“Ichiraku ramen!” Naruto tells him.

Gaara chuckles.

“Of course,” he says.

Then they get into a discussion about politics. After their meal, Naruto insists that he pays, and they leave the restaurant. Naruto explains that he should head back to Hokage Tower but that Gaara is welcome to do whatever he wants. Naruto offers to arrange a guide for him, but the kazekage turns down his offer, saying that he already has plans with Temari and Kankuro.

They part ways and Naruto goes back to work while Gaara decides to explore Konoha.

Two teams return and give their reports. Konohamaru’s, and Lee’s. Both were successful. Naruto knows that Sasuke should be back tomorrow and calls for the leader of the ANBU. He arrives and Naruto looks up.

“About Sasuke, how is everything progressing?” Naruto asks.

“Very well, sir. His position is open and ready if he chooses to take it.”

“Good. Thank you. That’s all.”

The ANBU bows and leaves. Naruto takes out Sasuke’s file and reads through it again. He already knows all of the information in it, but he misses him. Naruto hears the door open and closes the file. He looks up to see Shikamaru with a familiar hawk on his arm. It flies to land on Naruto’s shoulder when Shikamaru brings it in and nips a few strands of Naruto’s hair. Shikamaru glances at the hawk and hands Naruto the note that was attached to it.

“Why does Sasuke still use a hawk?” Shikamaru asks.

“Texting is kinda hard with one hand,” Naruto claims, opening the note. “The bastard probably got mad because he can’t type properly and destroyed it. I guess he might never charge his phone, either.”

“Both sound probable,” Shikamaru says. “Knowing him.”

“Yeah,” Naruto agrees, smiling.

The note is a report from Sasuke, sent yesterday afternoon. It states that the mission was successful and that they are on their way back. They should be home tomorrow evening.

“Naruto, it’s seven, you should go home,” Shikamaru says.

“I’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Naruto replies, easing the falcon off his shoulder and handing it to Shikamaru.

It tries to bite Shikamaru, who scowls.

“It’s an asshole, just like its owner,” Naruto chuckles.

“Yeah. Well, goodnight. I’ll head home once I return it,” Shikamara replies.

He leaves and Naruto tidies up his desk a little. He takes the note home with him. As he is walking home, he sees Iruka standing outside Ichiraku and strides up to him.

“Hey! Iruka-sensei!” Naruto calls.

Iruka turns and smiles.

“Naruto! Care to join me?” he offers.

“Your treat?” Naruto asks.

“Of course,” Iruka replies.

Naruto’s grin widens and he walks into the stand. Iruka follows him and they sit down. Ayame and Teuchi greet them cheerfully.

They order and Iruka glances at him.

“A little bird told me that Hinata took you to lunch,” he says.

“Oh yeah? What else did the bird say?” Naruto asks.

“Well, that you love someone else. Is that true?”

“Yeah.”

Iruka stays silent for a moment.

“So, who is it?” he inquires.

“What?”

“Hinata thought it was Sakura,” Iruka comments.

“Yeah, she did.”

“So is it?”

Naruto remains silent for a moment, facing forward. He takes a drink of sake.

“I see. Well, good luck,” Iruka tells him. “Rumor has it, she’s interested in you too.”

Naruto frowns slightly but doesn’t respond. He doesn’t like Sakura that way anymore, but he doesn’t want to just go around telling anyone who will listen that he’s in love with Sasuke. Well at least, he has enough reasoning not to, even if a part of him does want to.

They eat their meals and chat about insignificant events and topics. By the time Naruto continues the walk to his apartment once more, his mind is filled with thoughts of Sasuke again. He remembers Sasuke coming into his office the morning after Naruto’s birthday and showing him the mark, the way his heartbeat skipped. No one else would have left that. If Sakura saw it when she visited Sasuke the morning after Naruto’s birthday, she must know.

If she’s still interested in Naruto, then it must mean that she doesn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never promised quality, just quantity of this work. I had fun writing it and I hope all of you have fun reading it. Let me finish editing and I'll get a posting schedule together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut and a confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, school started again, and already my classes are kicking my ass (yay, AP), so my editing has been limited. I'll keep updating when I can, though.

Sasuke and the rest of the strike force arrive and deliver their report the next day. Naruto asks Sasuke to stay behind.

“What is it?” Sasuke asks, once the door closes behind Sakura.

“I've decided to promote you to ANBU. If you want that,” Naruto tells him.

“Do the ANBU leaders know?” Sasuke questions.

“Of course. They were some of the ones to suggest it. Will you take it?” Naruto replies.

“Of course. Are you sure? I won’t be around as often,” Sasuke says.

“I know. It just means that I’ll have to make the time you’re home worth it. Besides, even if you’re gone for ten years, I know you’ll always come back now. You have to,” Naruto says.

Sasuke smirks.

“What if I don’t come back?” he asks.

“I know that you will,” Naruto replies, smiling confidently.

“Do you, now?” Sasuke lifts an eyebrow with the question.

Naruto waves him closer and Sasuke leans over the desk a little. Naruto grabs the front collar on his cloak and pulls him into a harsh kiss.

“Come over to my place tonight,” Naruto whispers in his ear.

Sasuke leans back with wide eyes when Naruto lets him go. Naruto looks up at him, smirking, looking as confident as a hokage with his power should. Sasuke can see the chain of his mother’s necklace around Naruto’s neck.

“You’re dismissed. You should report to ANBU headquarters tomorrow morning. You’ll receive your mask and begin your training,” Naruto tells him.

Sasuke regains control over his expression and bows slightly. Then he turns around and leaves the office, Naruto smirking behind him.

Naruto works through a few more documents before he decides to leave the tower. He walks home but is caught halfway by Sakura. She blushes slightly when she walks up to him.

“Hey Naruto,” she greets.

“Oh, hi Sakura!” he replies happily. “Is something wrong?”

“No, not at all. I was just wondering… do you want to grab a drink or something?” she asks.

“Now?”

“Yes,” she says, seemingly nervous.

“I, um… I had a long day. Do you mind if we go out another time instead?” he offers.

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine,” she answers. “I’ll see you around.”

“You too,” he replies, walking past her.

He gets home. Sakura wants to talk to him, but for what he doesn’t know. He could text her and ask her. He decides to. Her reply is nearly instant.

“I just want to go on a date.”

Naruto swallows. This is bad. This is very bad. Suddenly, a knock on Naruto’s door startles him out of his thoughts. He walks over and opens it, pocketing his phone. He invites Sasuke in and lets him take off his shoes and cloak. Then they sit down at Naruto’s dining table.

“Well, I originally wanted you here so that I could welcome you back from your mission,” Naruto tells him. “But something just happened.”

“And what would that be?” Sasuke asks calmly.

“Sakura asked me on a date,” Naruto answers.

Sasuke’s eyes widen fractionally but he quickly regains his composure.

“What did you say?” he questions.

“I asked for a raincheck, but I don’t know what to do,” Naruto replies.

“If we tell her, she’ll tell Ino and Hinata, and before long all of Konoha will know,” Sasuke says.

“Probably,” he admits.

“Which leaves you with limited choices,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto nods again.

“I could tell her that I’m in love with you and reject her, but then there’s the risk that she won’t keep quiet about it, like you said. But if I just refuse without a reason, she’ll question it anyway. Then, I have to go with it but maybe I can break the news to her a little more gently and make sure that she doesn’t tell anyone who it is,” Naruto says.

“That sounds like the best way,” Sasuke responds.

“Yeah. I wish we didn’t have to stay in the shadows about this at all. I really love you, and I want the world to know it,” Naruto claims.

“Quiet, someone might hear you,” Sasuke tells him, a slight smirk on his lips.

Naruto smiles sadly and looks down at the table. He takes Sasuke’s hand over it and they interlock their fingers.

“So, how about celebrating your return?” Naruto asks, grinning mischievously.

“Usuratonkachi. Alright,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto’s eyes light up. He stands up from the table and keeps holding onto Sasuke’s hand so that Sasuke comes with him. Naruto brings him close against him and puts a hand around Sasuke’s waist to press their bodies together. They let each other’s hand go and Naruto’s free hand now snakes around Sasuke’s waist as well while Sasuke rests his forearm on Naruto’s shoulder.

They look into each other’s eyes for a moment.

Sasuke smiles slightly and leans into a kiss. At first, it’s just tender and sweet. It’s a softer, more pure kiss than anything they’ve done before and it feels completely different. Neither of them wants it to end, but they have to separate to breathe eventually. Sasuke glances at the necklace around Naruto’s neck. He carefully runs his fingertips along the silver chain.

“Thank you,” Naruto murmurs.

“It looks good on you,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto chuckles and Sasuke looks back up. 

“You’re beautiful,” Naruto whispers.

Sasuke hums and leans in closer.

They kiss again, but this time they part their lips and deepen it. Their tongues dance together between their mouths, fighting like they always have. At some point they shuffle over towards Naruto’s bed. Naruto trips backwards onto it, pulling Sasuke down on top of him. Their feet dangle off the edge and they chuckle.

“Idiot,” Sasuke murmurs.

“Bastard. It’s your fault I tripped,” Naruto replies.

“Oh, is it?” Sasuke asks, one eyebrow raised.

“Yes, it is,” Naruto claims, grinning. “You were distracting me.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I should probably just leave,” Sasuke tells him, starting to pull away.

“No! Come on, Sasuke!” Naruto whines.

Sasuke chuckles and shushes him.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Naruto whispers.

Sasuke smiles and shakes his head. He kneels on the edge of the bed over Naruto’s lap. He unzips Naruto’s shirt and reveals the seal on his abdomen. He traces the spiral with his index finger and smiles slightly while Naruto looks up at him, still lying back on the bed.

“You realize how easily I could kill you right now if I wanted to,” Sasuke says.

“I know you won’t,” Naruto replies, smiling back.

Sasuke takes off his glove, dropping it onto the floor, and leans over Naruto again, kissing and touching tanned skin. Naruto sighs happily and runs his fingers through Sasuke’s hair. Sasuke hums a single note into Naruto’s neck and his fingers brush over the waistband of his pants.

“Sasuke, what do you want to do?” Naruto asks softly.

“Hn, what do you want?” Sasuke returns, propping himself up on his arm to look Naruto in the eye.

“I want… you,” Naruto breathes.

“Well, that’s mutual. So, how far are we going to go? I don’t want to do anything penetrative without lube,” Sasuke replies.

“Y-yeah,” Naruto says. “So, then…”

“Is it alright if I give you a blowjob?” Sasuke asks calmly, expression neutral.

Naruto pales slightly and blood rushes south.

“Uh, yeah, are you...?”

“Am I sure?” Sasuke suggests.

Naruto nods and Sasuke sighs.

“Of course I’m sure, idiot. I wouldn’t suggest anything I wasn’t sure I wanted,” Sasuke tells him quietly.

Naruto gulps and his gaze drifts down. A little blood returns to his cheeks when he realizes how hard Sasuke is.

“Just one thing,” Naruto says, meeting Sasuke’s heated gaze.

“Yes?” Sasuke asks.

“Let me return the favor.”

Sasuke looks startled for a moment. Then he chuckles.

“Alright, usuratonkachi. If you know what you’re doing,” he says.

“Hey, I trained with the pervy sage for two years, I walked in on quite a few things I didn’t want to,” Naruto tells him. “It’s you who makes me wonder.”

“I have my ways,” Sasuke replies mysteriously.

“Hmph. If Orochimaru forced you to do some kind of gross stuff I’ll kill him.”

Sasuke smirks down at him for a moment.

“You think anyone could ever force me to do something like that?” he asks.

Naruto relaxes only slightly.

“If you want me to stop, tell me. And warn me before you--”

“Yeah,” Naruto interrupts him, blushing.

Sasuke’s smirk widens.

Then he leans in again and licks the shell of Naruto’s ear.

“If you can’t handle me talking dirty, then you’ll have a tough time in this relationship,” Sasuke murmurs.

Naruto shivers slightly.

“It’s not that… I’m just embarrassed by it,” he admits.

“And why’s that?” Sasuke asks, his fingers brushing over Naruto’s nipple.

“It’s embarrassing!” Naruto claims.

“Doesn’t have to be. There’s a purpose to it, you know.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Well, if you want me to stop, I can. Just don’t expect me to ask you to fuck me, or anything of the sort,” Sasuke says against his neck.

Naruto gulps again and looks at him out of the corner of his eye.

“That’s…” Naruto starts. He clears his throat and continues. “Not what I want.”

“Good,” Sasuke replies. “It’s quite arousing to make you blush like this.”

Naruto’s cheeks flush a darker shade of red and Sasuke’s smirk widens again. He backs off of Naruto and kneels down between his legs. Sasuke eases them open. He tugs Naruto’s waistband and looks up at him.

Naruto catches the gist and takes his pants off. Sasuke pushes them off to the side, out of the way. He takes off his own shirt as well and puts it with Naruto’s clothes.

“Your boxers are dumb,” Sasuke comments, eye-level with Naruto’s heart patterned underwear.

“Sorry,” Naruto chuckles.

Sasuke leans in and breathes over Naruto’s erection through his boxers. Naruto shivers again.

Sasuke sticks his hand inside them and pulls Naruto’s erection out. He kisses the tip and Naruto exhales a shuddery breath. Sasuke watches his expression hungrily. He wraps his fingers around the base delicately and Naruto leans back on his left arm. He entwines his right hand in Sasuke’s hair.

Sasuke closes his eyes and leans in again. This time, instead of kissing the head, he licks the slit and Naruto gasps. Sasuke tightens his grip and after a little while, takes the head into his mouth completely. Slowly, tantalizing, he takes Naruto in to the base.

Naruto gasps and moans Sasuke’s name as he gets closer. Before he cums, his fingers tighten in Sasuke’s hair and Sasuke pulls off with a lewd pop. Naruto’s seed spills across his face and Sasuke winces.

He should’ve expected that.

“S-sorry,” Naruto breathes.

“It’s fine,” Sasuke replies.

He licks some of it which landed on his lips. It tastes bitter and salty. He glances around and sees a box of tissues on Naruto’s nightstand. He picks a few out and wipes his face clean. Naruto finally recovers and pulls Sasuke back onto the bed.

“Now it’s my turn,” he says, eyes dark as he leans over Sasuke.

Sasuke’s erection is almost painful, so Naruto releases it from the confines of his pants and his boxers, dropping both over the side of the bed.

Naruto kisses him and strokes the length of his erection slowly. Sasuke gasps and feels his cheeks and the tips of his ears burning. Naruto kisses down his neck and across Sasuke’s collar bones.

His mouth moves south until he reaches his final destination. Sasuke arches his back when Naruto finally puts his mouth on him.

“You’re--hah, really good at this,” Sasuke breathes.

Naruto hums in response.

As Sasuke starts to get close, he warns Naruto, who stops using his mouth and switches back to his hand instead.

“What are you--hn--doing?” Sasuke asks him.

Naruto brushes Sasuke’s bangs out of his face with his free hand and smiles at him, eyes half-lidded.

“I want to see your face when you cum,” Naruto says softly.

That was the last thing Sasuke needed. He spills into Naruto’s hand and across both their torsos. Naruto works him through his orgasm and kisses him until he recovers.

Sasuke looks up at Naruto. He smiles gently and Naruto smiles right back.

~+~+~+~

They take a while in the shower as well. After both of them are dressed again, Sasuke hesitates to leave.

“It’s late,” Naruto says. “You should--”

“Yeah.”

They stare at each other awkwardly, neither moving.

“I’ll um… see you around,” Sasuke tells him.

Naruto bites his lip and nods. Sasuke starts to turn away but pauses and walks back over to Naruto. He kisses him.

“Thank you, Hokage-sama,” Sasuke whispers in his ear.

Naruto feels himself blush and watches Sasuke smirk at his expression before he leaves. Naruto sits down on the edge of his bed and puts his head in his hands. That was incredible, and he almost feels like it wasn’t real.

Although, now he has to face Sakura and tell her about them.

~+~+~+~+~

Naruto is shaving when he sees a bruise on the side of his neck. He sighs and picks out a shirt with a high collar. He chuckles as he remembers how pissed Sasuke was when Naruto drunkenly left a mark on him.

Naruto eats breakfast and heads to the hospital. He sends a clone to work for him today so he can have a day off. He finds Sakura in her office.

“How about that drink?” he asks her, smiling nervously.

She glances up from the paperwork she was going over and smiles gratefully.

“Anything to get away from this,” she replies, gesturing at the pile of documents beside her. “I don’t know how you do it all day.”

Naruto laughs.

Sakura smiles and follows him out of the hospital. She appoints Ino as the temporary hospital commander while she’s gone. The two of them go to a restaurant not very far away and order some sake.

“So, how have you been?” Sakura asks.

“I’m fine. Did Hinata tell you what happened between us?” he responds.

Sakura nods.

“I wouldn’t have asked you out otherwise,” she claims.

“Yeah. There’s something else, though. I know she’s great, and so are you, but I had to turn her down and I need to do the same with you. For the same reason,” Naruto tells her apologetically.

Sakura stares at him, anger and confusion flashing across her face.

“Why?” she asks.

“Well, I… I’m in love with someone else,” he replies anxiously, scratching the back of his neck and glancing away. “Hinata thought it was you, but…”

“But it’s not,” Sakura finishes, tone flat. “Well then, who is it?”

“I need you to promise that you won’t tell anyone,” Naruto says seriously. “Anyone.”

“Alright, jeez. What, is it Sasuke or someone like that?” Sakura asks jokingly.

Naruto blushes and swallows more sake. Sakura’s hands fly up to cover her mouth.

“Oh my god. Everything makes so much sense now. Of course that’s it,” she whispers. 

That is when she gets angry. She gets Naruto in a headlock and hits the top of his head. He pulls away, rubbing the spot.

“You’d better pay for our drinks,” Sakura tells him haughtily, crossing her arms after she calms down a bit.

He smiles sheepishly. She smiles back slightly.

“As angry as I am that you’ve turned me down, I’m glad you told me,” Sakura tells him.

“Yeah. Me too,” Naruto replies.

They smile at each other again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto's secretary finds out and Sasuke gets a mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY guys, school started and has been kicking my ass, but I'm sick so I got a chance to edit some more. :')

Naruto works late the next day. His paperwork has piled up a little more than usual. He has read over the same report five times before he sighs and sets it down. He ate a bento that Ino brought him a few hours ago for dinner. He leans back in his chair and decides to close his eyes for a minute. Everyone has already left the tower besides him.

Naruto drifts off to sleep and starts to dream. He finds himself standing under the trees of the forest, wearing his Jounin uniform from a few years ago. He looks around and sees a familiar pair of dark eyes staring at him from a tree branch. He grins and jumps up onto the branch with Sasuke, who stands up from his sitting position.

“Sasuke,” Naruto greets.

“Hn. Come here, usuratonkachi,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto takes a step forward and suddenly Sasuke is pulling him into a bruising kiss. Naruto moans. Somewhere nearby, someone clears their throat. Naruto pulls away from Sasuke and glances down. Everyone he knows is standing below, some staring up at them, some wincing and some covering their eyes.

“Sasuke, everyone’s watching,” Naruto mutters.

“Let them see,” Sasuke replies huskily. “They’ll never take me away from you.”

“Mhm, you’re right,” Naruto agrees.

Sasuke pulls him close again and their lips brush.

Then Sasuke is shaking Naruto’s shoulder.

“Bastard, what are you doing?” Naruto mumbles. “Quit that!”

“Wake up, Lord Seventh,” a girl’s voice calls.

Naruto opens his eyes fully and realizes that his secretary is standing in front of him with her hands on his shoulders, blushing. Dawn’s rays are streaming through the window and Naruto sits up. He wipes the corner of his mouth clean and looks back at his secretary.

“Lord Seventh, you fell asleep while you were working,” she tells him, not meeting his eyes. “I-I came in to tidy up a bit, and decided to wake you up, but you were talking in your sleep, Hokage-sama.”

“I see. Thank you for waking me,” Naruto responds. “How much did I say?”

Her blush darkens and she stammers out a reply.

“Um… You said… Sasuke-san’s name, and… and you said that everyone was watching, and then you… you said he was right, but I… You were puckering your lips, sir.”

Naruto sighs and straightens his shirt. He hadn’t meant for this to happen.

“Are you disgusted?” he asks his secretary calmly.

She startles.

“Of course not, sir! I’m just a little surprised,” she replies.

Naruto smiles slightly and nods.

“Thank you,” he says, “and thank you for waking me as well. Don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Of course not, sir!” she responds with a bow.

“You can go back to your desk,” he tells her.

She bows again and leaves. Naruto glances around his office. A mug of cold coffee is on his desk from last night, and his stacks of paperwork barely seem to have gone down much since yesterday morning. Maybe he should invest in a place a little closer to the tower.

Suddenly, Naruto senses a presence outside the door and tells them to come in. It’s one of his ANBU.

“Good morning, lord seventh,” the ANBU greets. “I was sent to tell you how Uchiha-sama is doing.”

“Thank you,” Naruto replies.

The ANBU steps in front of Naruto’s desk and tells him that Sasuke has received his mask and other equipment and that he seems like a natural with it.

“I’d expect nothing less,” Naruto says. “Is that all?”

“Yes, Lord Seventh.”

“Thank you. You’re dismissed.”

The ANBU kneels and disappears.

Naruto shuffles a few stray reports on his desk into a small pile and stands up to go eat breakfast.

Sasuke has indeed proven himself a natural as an ANBU. He passed their tests and exhibited exemplary ability and agility. One of the others called him, “A natural talent, like his brother”. As annoyed as he was to be compared to Itachi, he appreciated the compliment.

There are no official ranks within the ANBU besides team leaders. The only separation seems to be based on levels of experience.

Sasuke received his ANBU tattoo as well. The other ninja briefed him on the secrecy of this organization and made him swear an oath before he could be an ANBU shinobi, and now he is one. Today is his first day on the job.

He gets to spend his first day guarding Hokage tower. He would like to test how close he can get to Naruto without him realizing who it is, but that doesn’t seem possible with the level of surveillance his seniors have on him at the moment. Seeing Naruto privately also doesn’t seem possible. He has to find a way to let him know without talking to him, or risk compromising their relationship. Unless the current security dies down quickly enough. Perhaps Naruto already knows; he is the hokage, after all.

Towards the end of the day, the problem is solved for him; Naruto summons him to his office.

“Lord Seventh,” Sasuke greets appropriately, kneeling in front of Naruto’s desk.

He has to fight not to laugh at himself. The mask makes it easier to conceal his efforts.

“The uniform suits you,” Naruto comments calmly. “You may stand.”

Sasuke obeys without a response.

“So, how are you adjusting?” Naruto asks.

“Fine. They’ve been monitoring my actions.”

Naruto seems to get the hidden message in his words because his gaze flickers to the locations of the two nearest ANBU guards, stationed outside the windows.

“Understandably. They need to ensure you won’t betray them. Not like I haven’t done what I can to persuade them, but they need to make sure of it themselves. Don’t do anything rash.”

In other words, don’t visit me privately.

Sasuke smirks behind his mask.

“Of course not, sir.”

Naruto nods once, satisfied, and picks up a piece of paper.

“There’s a mission I’d like to send you on. It seems that one of the branch leaders was a little paranoid and set up a successor who has managed to keep the child-trafficking services afloat. I’d like you to take care of it,” he tells Sasuke before handing him a scroll, presumably with more information on it. “This will be your first mission as ANBU. Start by gathering intel on the locations of their hideouts, etcetera. The same thing you did with the main organization, but on a smaller scale.”

Sasuke takes the scroll and bows slightly.

“Leave in a week. You’re dismissed,” Naruto says.

Sasuke bows again and disappears.

Naruto interlaces his fingers on his desk and looks at the photo of his parents.

Kushina’s red hair is flowing behind her as Minato spins her around, both of them laughing. What Naruto would give to be able to be as open about who he loves as they are.

It’s not as if Sasuke’s gender is the problem here. Among ninja especially, sexuality doesn't matter to many, anymore. The issue is who Sasuke is, and what he has done in the past. The problem is the council, and what they might try to do if they find out that Naruto’s emotions had a big influence on his decision to plead for Sasuke.

Naruto wonders what his parents would think of his relationship with Sasuke if they were still alive. Before he knows it, something warm and wet falls onto his leg and he touches a hand to his cheek. He started crying.

Naruto sniffs and stops his tears by setting down the photograph and pressing his palms over his eyes. He starts to wonder how long he and Sasuke will have to be apart. Until the ANBU let Sasuke live his own life again. How long will that take? Days? Weeks? Naruto won’t be able to stand it if it takes months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look forward to some more smut next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised you I'd get on a bi-weekly schedule, and I've been cramming the editing like crazy so I can do that, so here you go. The first day of Sunday/Wednesday updates.

It turns out, he can barely handle the three days that it does take. He is on the verge of deciding to order the ANBU to stop monitoring Sasuke when he receives a text.

“Theyre gone. Dont know how long. Come over now. If they show up we can pass it off as a casual dinner.”

Naruto smiles to himself. He sets aside the last of his work for tomorrow and grabs his cloak. He leaves his office and waves goodbye to his secretary and Shikamaru as he passes them, the only two people still on duty at the tower right now besides ANBU guards. Naruto walks across Konoha with a skip in his step and a smile on his face. Sakura passes him on her way home from the hospital and stops him.

“Naruto, you look cheerful. Did something happen?” she asks.

“No,” Naruto lies. “I’m just heading home a little early, ya know! That’s all.”

“Your house is the other direction,” she tells him flatly. “You’re going to visit Sasuke, aren’t you?”

“Sakura-chan, come on! It’s a secret for a reason, you know,” he stage-whispers.

She smiles at him and puts her hands on her hips.

“Well, tell him I said hi. Don’t let him mess you up so badly you can’t walk to work tomorrow,” she tells him.

Sakura walks away as Naruto’s brain processes the information and disappears by the time it finally clicks. He blushes and calls after her, but she is already gone so he just sighs and puts his hands in his pockets. He keeps walking.

Suddenly, he senses a presence following him and smirks. So, someone else has started figuring it out as well. Naruto is just going to have to lure him out. He keeps walking without giving his shadow any idea that he has realized his presence, let alone his identity.

Naruto leads him down an alley before a clone drops down behind his follower and gets one of Naruto’s best friends in a headlock.

“Why are you following me, Shikamaru?” Naruto asks.

Shikamaru struggles against the clone’s arm for a minute before sighing and giving in.

“I wanted to double check my theory that there’s something between you and Sasuke,” he admits.

Naruto dispels the clone and nods once.

“What would you do if there is?” he asks.

“Nothing,” Shikamaru replies calmly. “I just want to help you two, actually. It makes sense for you to be together. I don’t know why I never saw it before; you obviously loved him long before he returned.”

“I see. So you won’t tell the council, then?” Naruto asks.

“Of course not. I’m your friend, Naruto. Sasuke might have done some terrible things in the past, but we both know that he’s different now,” Shikamaru replies. “If the council tries to put him on trial again, I’ll try to stop it.”

“Okay. Thanks, Shika. I knew I could count on you,” Naruto tells him, smiling.

Shikamaru smiles back.

“Yeah. See you tomorrow, Hokage-sama.”

“Heh. You too, Shika.”

Shikamaru walks out of the alley and goes home. Naruto keeps walking to Sasuke’s. He gets to the door and knocks. Sasuke opens the door wearing a standard black ANBU tank top and pants. Naruto likes the way the shirt shows off Sasuke’s muscles and tapered waist.

He lets Naruto inside with a quick, barely noticeable glance around.

“Did anyone follow you here?” Sasuke asks lowly.

“Shika tried to, but I caught him. He knows about us now. He said he’ll help us out if the council tries anything,” Naruto answers.

“I see. It will be helpful to have him on our side,” Sasuke responds. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Sake’s fine,” Naruto tells him.

Sasuke goes to the kitchen to pour some. Naruto slips off his sandals, hangs up his cloak, and walks into Sasuke’s apartment. He stops by the window and looks out at the city. Sasuke comes up to him from behind and hands him his drink. Then he rests his chin on Naruto’s left shoulder and lets his fingers land on Naruto’s waist lightly. Naruto glances at him, but Sasuke just stares straight ahead out the window.

“Why did you cut your hair so short?” Sasuke murmurs.

“Sakura told me it’d look more professional.”

“The Fourth had very long hair,” Sasuke points out.

“Do you want me to grow it out?”

Sasuke considers it, looking at Naruto.

“Possibly,” he responds.

“Alright,” Naruto says. “Maybe I will. By the way, how come you keep your hair over the rinnegan?”

“I don’t like showing it off, dobe,” Sasuke tells him.

Naruto smiles and twists around to brush away Sasuke’s bangs in order to see his left eye. Sasuke pulls back slightly, but Naruto brings him close again.

“Then, only show me,” he murmurs.

Their lips meet and their eyes close. They feel the other’s mouth melt against their own and their lips part. The kiss deepens and their hands start to roam.

“You’re sure you weren’t followed?” Sasuke asks against Naruto’s lips.

“Yeah,” Naruto answers. “I can double check if you’d like.”

“Mhm,” Sasuke hums.

Naruto breaks away for a moment and closes his eyes. He senses Sasuke’s chakra, the neighbors’, a few people walking by in the street, but no one on the roof or outside the window.

“We’re alone,” Naruto assures him.

“Good,” Sasuke replies, pulling Naruto in again.

Naruto grins and runs his fingers up Sasuke’s sides. Sasuke kisses him again but pulls away quickly. Naruto looks at him, confused.

“I want to eat first,” Sasuke says. “Don’t worry, we’ll continue afterwards.”

~+~+~+~+~

The second Sasuke places their dishes in the sink, Naruto comes up to him and pulls him close with his hands on Sasuke’s waist. They close their eyes and let their mouths melt together again. Sasuke runs his hand up Naruto’s chest and stops at the zipper. He tugs it down and Naruto throws his shirt off to the floor. They press their bodies closer together and Naruto pushes Sasuke up against the counter. He snakes his hands around Sasuke’s waist and lifts him onto the edge. Sasuke cups Naruto’s jaw and deepens the kiss. Naruto leans up to meet him. He presses his against Sasuke’s crotch. Sasuke moans into his mouth and Naruto feels himself blushing, but his blood is going somewhere else, too.

“Naruto,” Sasuke breathes, breaking away.

Naruto stops and pulls back to look at him through half-lidded eyes.

“How far do you want to go?” Sasuke asks softly.

Naruto’s eyes widen slightly.

“Could I… blow you?”

Sasuke smirks and inclines his head slightly.

“Do you want to?”

“You’re going to make me beg, aren’t you,” Naruto realizes.

Sasuke’s smirk widens.

“Bastard, come on,” Naruto snaps.

Sasuke hums, glancing away and pulling back.

“Fine! I want you,” Naruto hisses. “I want to suck you off until you’re moaning my name.”

Sasuke looks back at him, a dangerous glint in his eyes and that same self-satisfied smirk on his lips. Naruto decides to shut him up before he can say anything, so he moves forward and crushes their lips together again. 

They break for air and look into each other’s eyes.

“Are you sure about this?” Naruto asks.

“Yes,” Sasuke tells him. “Now hurry up.”

Naruto leans towards Sasuke and kisses him on the lips again. Slowly, his kisses move down Sasuke’s neck. He takes Sasuke’s shirt off for him and moves his lips across Sasuke’s collarbone, then down his chest. He licks one nipple and plays with the other for a time before he switches. He palms Sasuke through his boxers as he goes along. Sasuke gasps and groans beneath him.

“You like that, don’t you,” Naruto murmurs lowly in Sasuke’s ear.

“Fuck,” Sasuke gasps.

Naruto chuckles and presses down on Sasuke’s crotch harder. Sasuke grinds into his hand.

“Hurry up!” Sasuke growls.

Naruto smirks and pulls down Sasuke’s pants. He sinks to his knees on the floor and looks up at Sasuke, panting and flushed on the edge of the counter, hair askew.

“What?” Sasuke asks, breathless.

“I’m just admiring the view,” Naruto answers.

Sasuke’s cheeks flush a darker shade of red and he looks away with a muttered, “Usuratonkachi.”

Naruto smiles and pulls down Sasuke’s briefs. He looks at Sasuke’s erection with admiration and a hint of jealousy.

“What?” Sasuke asks.

“You’re longer than me,” Naruto notices.

“Hn,” Sasuke replies. “Is it too much for you to handle?”

“Shut up,” Naruto tells him.

He wraps his hand around the base and strokes up slowly, experimentally. Sasuke groans and throws his head back.

“You’re pretty sensitive,” Naruto comments, watching his expression. “You don’t do this often, do you?”

“Shut up, dobe,” Sasuke pants, meeting his eyes with a lustful glare.

Naruto gulps at the heat in Sasuke’s eyes. He leans in and licks up the underside carefully. Sasuke grabs a fistful of his hair and gasps.

“Ouch, easy on the hair, bastard,” Naruto tells him.

“Sorry,” Sasuke pants, loosening his grip.

Naruto grunts in response and leans in again. He swirls the tip with his tongue before taking it into his mouth and sucking. Sasuke moans and his grip tightens in Naruto’s hair again. Naruto slowly starts lowering his head until he feels the tip brush the back of his neck. He stops there and grunts with frustration at how far away the hair at the base seems. Sasuke tastes salty but there is something else there, too.

Naruto pulls back and moves down again and again, Sasuke’s hand tugging on his hair the whole time. Naruto accidentally lets his teeth drag slightly and Sasuke moans Naruto’s name. Naruto quickly reaches up with the hand that had been holding Sasuke’s thigh in place and covers his mouth, sending Sasuke a sharp glare as well as he can with Sasuke’s dick in his mouth. Sasuke nods slightly and Naruto lets him go. He drags his teeth again, testing, and hums when Sasuke moans again.

He does it a third time and Sasuke pulls him off as he comes, mind going blank. Naruto pulls a face as some of it lands on him. He looks up at Sasuke’s flushed expression when it’s over and smiles slightly.

“You liked that, didn’t you?” he asks huskily.

Sasuke meets his gaze, eyes clouded over slightly, breathing shallowly. He withdraws his hand from Naruto’s hair and glances away. Naruto walks over to the sink and washes his face. He dries off with the dish towel and turns to Sasuke again.

“That was better than the first time,” Sasuke tells him. “Did you practice?”

Naruto chuckles nervously and scratches the back of his neck.

“Maybe a little,” he replies.

Sasuke smirks.

Naruto decides to ask him something.

“You liked feeling my teeth, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Sasuke admits, looking away.

“And you liked pulling my hair.”

Sasuke nods very slightly.

“Do you have anything else you like that I should know about?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke meets his gaze again, but this time his eyes are clear and his expression is calm and neutral. How he manages to still look regal sitting naked and exposed on a countertop is a mystery to Naruto.

“I’ll tell you another time,” Sasuke says.

He looks down at the tent in Naruto’s pants and smirks. He eases himself off the counter and pulls Naruto towards himself. He pushes Naruto up against the opposite counter and they sink to the floor. Sasuke pulls Naruto’s pants and boxers down together and kisses him as he starts to jerk him off. Naruto moans into his mouth. Sasuke doesn’t try to draw it out. He brings Naruto to his climax as quickly as he can, and catches most of the semen in his palm. Naruto looks up at him afterwards, dazed.

Sasuke stands up and washes his hands. Then he picks up Naruto’s clothes for him and hands them to him.

“Thanks,” Naruto murmurs, giving him a peck on the lips.

“You’re welcome,” Sasuke replies. “Now, go home. If you stay here too long people will start to get suspicious. I’ll take care of cleaning up. And… thank you.”

Naruto looks at him for a moment, shocked. Then he leans in and kisses Sasuke again. When he pulls back, there is tenderness in his eyes and a smile on his lips.

“I’ll see you around, Sasuke,” he whispers.

“Hn, you too dobe.”

Naruto gets dressed again and leaves with one last longing look at Sasuke, who pulls on his pants and shirt before Naruto opens the door.

Once Naruto is gone, Sasuke wipes down the counter, cupboards, and floor with a damp paper towel. Then he does the dishes and takes a shower.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto has lunch with the girls and ends up making a confession and a purchase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still on schedule! School is awful! I failed a test today! Here's a new chapter!

Naruto doesn’t see Sasuke again until the morning when he leaves to gather intel on the resurgence. Naruto meets him at the gates to see him off.

“Good luck,” Naruto says.

“Thanks,” Sasuke replies.

He turns away and Naruto briefly considers pulling him back and kissing him, but there are guards watching.

Naruto turns and walks back into the village.

Naruto doesn’t hear from Sasuke much while he’s gone. This mission could take as long as a few months. Sasuke is supposed to stay out of the village for as long as he can keep safely gathering information. The only thing that would bring him back before then would be Naruto.

Two weeks after Sasuke leaves, Sakura convinces Naruto to go out for lunch one day with her, Ino, and Hinata.

“Why do I feel like you all have a lot of questions for me?” Naruto asks them warily after their food has arrived and they’ve started eating.

All three of them have been watching him expectantly since they came in.

“Naruto, I think you should tell Hinata who you love, and Ino deserves to know as well,” Sakura claims.

Naruto shoots her a serious glare.

“You know I can’t tell just anyone,” he says.

“We’re your friends, Naruto,” Ino tells him. “Besides, Sakura and I think it’ll do Hinata good to know who stole your heart before she could.”

Naruto looks at her. She still looks a little angry, but now there’s more disappointment and sadness than there was at first.

“Look, Hinata, I’m truly sorry about that,” Naruto tells her. “It’s just that--”

“I don’t want your excuses,” Hinata interrupts. “I just want to know who.”

Naruto sinks in his seat a little and puts his head in his hands, propping his elbows on the edge of the table. He sighs.

“None of you can tell anyone,” Naruto warns.

“It’s alright, Sakura made us promise that we won’t,” Ino replies, smiling.

Naruto looks up at them.

“It’s Sasuke,” he admits, hoping that his boyfriend--right, his boyfriend--won’t be angry. 

He looks at Sakura first, the only one who already knew. She smiles and puts her hand over his reassuringly. Hinata’s anger fades to understanding and Ino looks shocked.

“What?” Ino asks.

Naruto sighs and withdraws his hand from Sakura’s. He’ll face this on his own.

“I’m in love with Sasuke Uchiha,” he tells her, staring her in the eye.

“Of course,” Hinata mutters. “Of course it’s him. Well, I hope that you’re happy with him, Naruto.”

She looks down at her plate and keeps eating.

“I haven’t seen Sasuke around lately, is he on a mission?” Sakura asks.

“Yeah,” Naruto answers. “He was also promoted to ANBU a little over three weeks ago.”

“Wow,” Ino comments. “Look at you, Hokage-sama.”

Naruto grins.

“When will he be coming back?” Sakura inquires.

“I don’t know. It’s another recon mission,” Naruto tells her.

“I see. Are the details classified?”

“Not really. There was a resurgence of one of the branches in the organization we’ve been tracking,” Naruto responds.

“Which one?” Ino asks.

“The child-trafficking one.”

“That’s terrible,” Sakura murmurs.

“Yeah. I’ll have Sasuke gather as much intel as possible and then send more ANBU after the leaders of the organization. Then I’ll have some shinobi work on relocating the kids to a safer place.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Ino says. “Maybe we can start an orphanage in Konoha.”

“That’s a great idea!” Naruto exclaims. “Ino, you’re a genius.”

She smiles.

“I’m still sorry that I was so mean to you about being an orphan back when we were kids,” Sakura replies. “I should have tried to understand you earlier.”

“It’s alright, Sakura-chan. I don’t blame you,” Naruto tells her. “After all, you’re my friend! If it weren’t for you and everyone else in Konoha, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

“You’re going to make me cry,” Sakura warns him.

Naruto chuckles and finishes off his meal. Soon, the other three do as well. A waitress comes by to pick up their plates and ask if they want dessert. They decline, and she serves them the check instead. Sakura insists on picking up the tab.

“Thanks,” Naruto tells her.

“Come on, it’s the least I can do,” she retorts, signing it. She hands the receipt back to the server with a smile and her credit card.

“Naruto, don’t you think it’s time for you to buy a real house instead of staying in that tiny apartment of yours?” Ino asks him.

“Hm? I guess a house would be better, but what would I fill it with?”

“Furniture! You and Sasuke could move in together, too,” Ino says.

“I think it’s a little early for that,” Naruto replies, “but I have been considering moving anyway.”

“That’s good,” Ino tells him. “You’re an adult now. It’s time for you to buy your own place.”

He laughs. 

“Naruto-kun, how long have you and Sasuke been dating?” Hinata asks.

Naruto hums as he thinks about it.

“A little over a month,” he replies.

The server brings back Sakura’s card. The server makes eye contact with Naruto for a second, who smiles. She blushes and runs away.

“Look at this,” Sakura says, handing Naruto a tiny slip of paper that was with her card.

Naruto picks it up and reads a note on one side.

“Call me anytime, Hokage-sama.”

He turns it over and finds a phone number.

The girls giggle when he sighs dramatically.

“I can’t wait until Sasuke and I don’t have to hide,” Naruto admits. “Maybe then I’ll finally stop getting stupid messages like this.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Hinata warns him.

“Plenty of girls would still be willing to throw themselves at you just for a smile,” Ino tells him.

Naruto groans.

“I didn’t expect something like this to be my least favorite part of being hokage,” he complains.

The other three laugh again before all of them leave the restaurant. They walk through Konoha for a while, no real destination in mind.

“We should help you find a house!” Ino suggests.

“That’s a great idea!” Hinata replies.

Sakura nods her agreement.

They turn to Naruto expectantly. He sighs and gives in. They smile and start to lead him through town, looking at every for-sale home they come across. After the Fourth Great Shinobi War, there was another building boom in Konoha. Naruto finds a house that he likes about two blocks away from the old Uchiha compound. The surrounding area seems to be fairly uninhabited, because a lot of unoccupied houses are around here. The house that Naruto likes has two stories, three bedrooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms, and an attic. They just happen to pass by as the landlord is doing an open house, so they get to go in and Naruto decides that he is going to look into buying it. He asks the landlord how much it’s for sale for.

When Naruto finds out that it’s easily within what his income can afford without a loan, he asks to buy it. His rent in his apartment is coming to an end soon anyway, so he won’t have to bother with cancelling it. The landlord tells him that she would love to sell the house to Konoha’s Hokage, and almost has him sign the papers there. Instead, he asks her to come by his apartment later today to do it. She enthusiastically agrees and he gives her his address.

Then he, Sakura, and Ino leave.

“That was fast,” Ino comments.

“Yeah,” Naruto agrees, smiling. “I like it, though.”

“Are you sure you can afford it?” Sakura asks him. “Don’t you need a loan from the bank?”

Naruto chuckles.

“I’ve been saving up,” he replies. “Not to mention, I’m hokage. I’m not paid sparsely.”

“I guess you’re right,” Sakura says.

“Well, I should go home and clean up before she gets there. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” he tells them, stopping.

“Goodbye,” they respond, waving to him as he turns and walks down a different street.

He waves back and heads home. Once he enters his apartment, he opens his fridge and finds it nearly empty except for a carton of nearly-expired milk and a few apples. He cringes slightly and closes the fridge. Then he opens his cupboards, only finding ramen and a half-empty box of crackers.

He decides to make a run to the store and brings home cheese, more crackers, fresh milk, a bottle of whiskey, meats, and some more fruit. He puts the groceries away at home and hears a knock on his door just as he finishes. He goes to it and opens it. Standing on his doorstep looking nervous, is the landlady.

Naruto invites her inside and she takes off her shoes. They sit down at Naruto’s dinner table and she opens a folder on top of it. She smiles at him and they begin business.

~+~+~+~+~

By the time she leaves, Naruto owns a house. Naruto begins to glance around his apartment. He’ll visit his current landlord soon to ensure that he knows that Naruto is moving. Old man Sansho and he have become close over the years. Naruto is going to need boxes to move his things, but clones will make it much easier and then he won’t have to actually be there to oversee it. He will get the keys once the check and the paperwork comes through, which should be in a few days. That means that he can move in within a week.

Naruto grins and puts his hands on his hips. Sasuke is going to like this when he comes home.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving and dinner!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should really be doing my homework right now...

Naruto moves in ten days later, with the help of Lee, Choji, Sakura, and some clones. Naruto decides to host dinner for those of his friends who aren’t out on missions so that they can see the new place. Ino helps him prepare dinner. Hinata is out on a mission, and so are Tenten, Sai, and Shino. Ino and he prepare dinner for Shikamaru, Choji, Lee, Sakura, Kiba, and themselves.

“I didn’t know you could make anything besides ramen,” Ino comments while Naruto works on a stew.

He smirks.

“It might be my favorite, but everyone gets a little sick of their favorite food after a while,” he tells her. “Since I didn’t really have anyone to cook for me, I had to learn a few things myself.”

“That explains why you have cookbooks,” Ino comments.

Naruto hums agreement as he keeps chopping up vegetables and putting them in the stew. It’s early in the afternoon, and it’s been three and a half weeks since Sasuke left. Naruto has received two status messages in that time, both via hawk. Neither had any bad news in them, luckily. If Naruto concentrates hard enough in sage mode, he can still barely sense Sasuke’s chakra far, far away, but it’s enough for him to know that he’s alright.

As if reading his mind, Ino speaks up again.

“Have you heard from Sasuke lately?”

“He’s still on the mission. He’s gathered a lot of good information, from what his messages tell,” Naruto replies.

“You miss him, don’t you?” she asks.

“Not as much as I used to. Now I know he’ll always come back,” he admits.

She looks at him and smiles.

“I’m glad you found someone who matters to you so much, and who cares about you too,” Ino tells him.

“Heh. Thanks, Ino,” he replies.

They keep cooking in silence. Naruto’s new house has a renovated kitchen. He might start cooking decent meals again on a regular basis.

As they finish up with the last of the dishes, the first knock sounds on the door. Naruto opens it and greets Kiba, who laughs and hugs him, congratulating him on the new house. Naruto thanks him and lets him in. Kiba removes his shoes and hands Naruto a couple cartons of beer and looks around.

“I’ll show everyone around a little when the rest of them get here,” Naruto promises, taking the drinks into the kitchen.

“Sounds good,” Kiba replies. “Hey man, I figured you wouldn’t want Akamaru running around, so I didn’t bring him.”

“Thanks,” Naruto tells him. “It wouldn’t have been easy to fit him in the dining room with everyone, dattebayo.”

Kiba chuckles.

“Well, what should I do? Can I help?” he asks.

“Actually yeah, could you help us set the table?” Naruto requests.

“Sure!” Kiba replies.

He follows Naruto into the kitchen and exchanges greetings with Ino.

The three of them take some dishes to the new table and put them down. Then they put down forks and napkins.

“You don’t seem to have a lot of stuff anymore,” Kiba notes.

“Not really,” Naruto replies. “I didn’t have much in the apartment either, so I just got a new dining table and bed so far. I donated the old ones, but I kept my old dining chairs and dresser.”

“Alright,” Kiba says. “Are you gonna get a couch and things soon?”

“Probably, but I don’t know when I’ll have time,” Naruto tells him.

“I guess being hokage does have its disadvantages, huh?”

“Yeah,” Naruto replies with a smile.

“Speaking of disadvantages of being hokage, did you ever call that girl?” Ino asks.

Naruto slugs her shoulder lightly.

“What girl?” Kiba asks.

“There was a waitress at a restaurant Sakura, Hinata and I took him to not very long ago,” Ino answers.

“Woah, did she give you her number?” Kiba asks Naruto.

“Yeah, but she’s not really my type,” Naruto says.

Ino looks at him with understanding, but Kiba seems oblivious.

“Fifteen years ago you were so happy if any girl wanted you, man,” Kiba exclaims. “What changed?”

“I guess I matured,” Naruto replies, smiling.

“Hm. I guess,” Kiba says. “Hey, Hinata hasn’t been stalking you anymore. Did something happen?”

“Yeah,” Naruto tells him. “I made it clear to her that it’s not going to happen between us.”

“I hope you said it nicer than that,” Kiba retorts.

“He did,” Ino reassures.

“Good. I was worried I’d have to hit you for her or something,” Kiba says.

Naruto chuckles. Suddenly, an idea occurs to him.

“Kiba, you should ask her out!”

“What?!” Ino and Kiba exclaim simultaneously.

“Why?” Kiba adds.

“You like her, don’t you?” Naruto asks.

“Of course I do, she’s my teammate, but… Wait, how come you just realized this?”

“I didn’t, but I figured you’d make your move when the time was right. I guess not,” Naruto replies. “So I thought you might need a little bit of encouragement.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but why would Hinata be interested in me?” Kiba asks.

“You never know,” Ino says. “Naruto might be onto something. She might need someone to help her get over him, and you might be perfect.”

Kiba sputters, but realizes that there’s no point in arguing. Then another person knocks at the door. This time it’s Sakura. She comes in and gives Ino a kiss, which absolutely shocks Kiba.

“Wait a minute, are you--?”

“Yes, Kiba. We started dating a couple of weeks ago,” Ino tells him, taking Sakura’s hand. “We plan to tell everyone over dinner.”

“Oh,” Kiba replies. He looks at Naruto and asks him, “Did you know?”

“They told me at lunch with Hinata.”

“Oh.”

Another knock. Shikamaru and Lee. Naruto invites them in and they join the others around the dining table. They start sitting down. Choji is next, and lastly Lee. Naruto joins them all in the dining room once they’re all there.

“You should get a couch,” Shikamaru tells Naruto.

“I will, dattebayo,” Naruto promises.

They start eating. Naruto and Ino receive compliments from everyone on the food.

“Say, Naruto, why did you pick this place?” Sai asks halfway through the meal.

“I dunno. It’s not too big, but it’s got a spare room and a couple of bathrooms. I figured it was time I found my own house instead of living in an apartment my whole life,” Naruto replies with a shrug.

“It has nothing to do with how close it is to Sasuke’s place?” Lee questions.

“That’s… not important,” Naruto lies.

“Come on, man. You know we can tell when you’re lying,” Kiba says.

Naruto glances away.

“It might’ve been a little important,” he mutters.

“We’re all glad that you two are finally getting close again,” Sakura assures him.

“Yeah,” Shikamaru agrees.

“It’s always important for friends from youth to forgive each other!” Lee exclaims.

Naruto smiles.

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

The rest of the meal passes uneventfully. Naruto shows his friends around the house and they help him do the dishes. They leave eventually, and Naruto feels lonely once they’re gone. He remembers why he doesn’t like big houses. They always felt so empty.

Naruto wants Sasuke to come back soon.

Three days later, Naruto receives a message from Sasuke telling him that he’s on his way back to the village. Naruto smiles and asks the aviary shinobi to take Sasuke’s hawk back. Once he leaves with the bird, Naruto looks out his window. Sasuke’s note said it should take him a few days to return. Naruto feels like it’s been forever.

When Sasuke finally does enter Naruto’s office in the morning after he returned, Naruto has to remind himself that he can’t hug him. Instead, he takes his report and scrolls of information that Sasuke collected over the last month. Before Sasuke turns to leave, while he’s still leaning over Naruto’s desk slightly, Naruto speaks quietly.

“We need to talk. Ino and Hinata found out. Come to 127 Mobunshi Street tonight.”

Sasuke only spares a glance at him out of the corner of his eye before he walks out with a dramatic swish of his cloak.

Naruto sighs, but his mood improves when he realizes how happy Sasuke is going to be to find out that Naruto moved closer to him.

~+~+~+~+~

That night, Naruto just finished cooking when Sasuke arrives. He looks at Naruto warily when Naruto invites him in, beaming. Sasuke takes off his shoes and hangs his cloak by the door. He follows Naruto to the dining room and sits down next to him at one end of it, food already laid out on the table. Sasuke realizes with a pang of nostalgia that it’s just onigiri. He picks one up and takes a bite. He smiles slightly.

“Tomato,” he realizes.

Naruto nods happily, but then Sasuke’s smile fades and he sets the onigiri down on his plate and looks at Naruto.

“Why did you tell them?” he asks.

“Huh?”

“I thought you promised that you’d try to keep what’s between us a secret, so why did you move closer to my apartment and tell two more people while I was gone?” Sasuke questions.

“I-- I thought you’d be glad,” Naruto says, confused.

“I’m concerned,” Sasuke tells him. “You’re being selfish. If the council comes for me, you can’t do anything to stop them, can you?”

Naruto hesitates to respond.

“You’re taking unnecessary risks,” Sasuke claims.

“They won’t come for you!” Naruto says.

“How can you be sure?!” Sasuke yells, glaring at him.

Naruto startles.

“If you can’t keep what’s between us quiet, then you’re just a selfish brat,” Sasuke tells him, looking away.

“How? How can you say that?” Naruto replies, looking down. “I’m willing to risk everything for you.”

“That’s the problem! We both know that you’d be better off with someone else. I can’t stand keeping this quiet either,” Sasuke says.

“Then why won’t you let me tell anyone?” Naruto asks.

“Because I could be sentenced to death again! Don’t you understand that?!” Sasuke retorts. “Why can’t you think of what’s best for both of us instead of what you want? We can’t always be happy, Naruto.”

“Why not? I’ll fight for you if they try to come after you!”

“Then I’ll just leave. I can’t risk dragging you back to that cell with me. I won’t, so don’t try to convince me that--”

“I’m not trying to convince you of anything,” Naruto tells him. “I’m saying that they won’t be able to capture either of us if we fight them. You know we’re the strongest ninjas in Konoha. If everyone fought against us, they could barely slow us down.”

“What are you talking about? You can’t risk all of Konoha for me! This is your dream,” Sasuke claims. “You’re hokage now. Don’t throw it away just to have me.”

“Sasuke, I’d throw away the entire world and the stars if it meant I could still have you,” Naruto promises.

Sasuke startles. He stares at Naruto with a whirlwind of emotion inside him: fear, surprise, affection, pity, even happiness, but overwhelming all of that is a deep sense of gratitude. He doesn’t realize he started crying until Naruto’s hand brushes against his cheek.

“You idiot… Why?” Sasuke asks softly. “Why would you go that far for me?”

Naruto smiles.

“Because, bastard… I love you.”

He brushes away the tears that are falling freely down Sasuke’s cheeks now and they kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO WHAT IF IT'S CHEESIER THAN KRAFT MAC AND CHEESE FIGHT ME


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, more smut.

Sasuke blinks awake in the early morning light streaming through an unfamiliar window and looks around. The room he’s in is sparsely furnished, and it belongs to the beautiful man lying beside him. He smiles a little at the sight. Naruto’s hair is messier than usual and sticking up in weird places. The lines across his cheeks look soft against his face. His expression is peaceful, an unusual thing for him these days, with the stress of being the hokage. He’s snoring lightly too.

Sasuke turns onto his side to watch his boyfriend. They’ve never woken up together like this before. To be fair, they have only had sex three times counting last night, but there’s something even more vulnerable in falling asleep with someone and letting them watch you wake. Part of Sasuke wonders if he should leave, but he convinces that part of himself that it’s okay to stay for a little while.

A little while turns into an hour before he realizes it, though.

Naruto’s alarm goes off and Sasuke reaches out to silence it for him. Naruto blinks awake and looks up at Sasuke.

“Hey,” he greets, voice hoarse from sleep.

“Hi,” Sasuke replies softly, sitting up beside him and smiling. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah. I guess I need to get up though. I do have to go to work, after all,” Naruto says, sitting up and stretching.

Sasuke watches him stand up and cross the room to his dresser. Shamelessly, Sasuke stares at his ass until Naruto notices.

“Were you just staring at my butt?”

“So what if I was?” Sasuke retorts, smirking.

Naruto chuckles and temporarily abandons his quest to look for clothes in favor of climbing back onto his bed and kneeling over Sasuke’s lap, naked.

“You’re still not clean from last night,” Sasuke notices.

“And you’re still sore. I’ve got a solution to the second problem,” Naruto tells him, grinding his hips down.

“Naruto,” Sasuke gasps, his hand on his boyfriend’s waist. “Stop. You’re going to be late for work.”

“Shika will cover for me,” Naruto promises.

He captures Sasuke’s lips and lets his hand roam. One of them slips under the covers and wraps around the base of Sasuke’s rising erection.

Sasuke gasps and rolls his head back as Naruto touches him. Soon, Naruto leans away to grab a bottle off his dresser.

“Careful, you’re--” Sasuke starts.

“I know, I’ve never had someone inside me before, but do you really think I’ve never experimented?” Naruto gives Sasuke a pointed look with his statement.

Sasuke blushes at the mental image of Naruto alone, his fingers inside him as he pumps his erection until he--.

“You are the worst,” Sasuke mutters.

Naruto smirks.

“If you ever want me to, I’d be happy to show you for real what you obviously just imagined,” he says huskily.

“What happened to the shy Naruto? What changed while I was gone?” Sasuke asks breathlessly.

Naruto kisses him again, grinding their hips together.

“Nothing besides me missing you and buying a house so we don’t have to stay quiet anymore,” he replies.

Naruto lets go of Sasuke’s penis and backs up to put some lube on his fingers. He pauses right before the liquid squeezes out of the bottle and looks at Sasuke.

“Do you want to do it?” he asks.

Sasuke nods slightly and takes the bottle from him, completing the action Naruto began. Naruto scoots closer so Sasuke has better access, and Sasuke presses the tip of his index finger against the entrance to start. It doesn’t take him very long to work in three fingers, and it makes him wonder how often Naruto has enjoyed himself this way.

“I’m ready,” Naruto pants after Sasuke can move his fingers around inside him a little.

Sasuke extracts his fingers and watches Naruto take the lube and spread it liberally on Sasuke’s erection. Sasuke helps him line up and Naruto eases down, letting himself adjust before he sinks down completely.

Sasuke sits under him, panting.

“It feels good, doesn’t it?” Naruto asks knowingly, even though his breath is shallow.

“Yeah,” Sasuke breathes as a reply.

Naruto leans over and kisses him, careful not to hurt either of them as he does. Then he sits back up and looks at Sasuke.

“Are you ready?” he asks.

“I should be asking you that,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto smiles and pushes himself up before he slams back down, drawing a moan from Sasuke.

“You’re so hot,” Naruto tells him, starting to get a rhythm.

“Fuck you.”

“You are,” Naruto responds, smirking.

Sasuke growls but just rolls his head back against the pillows again. After a moment, he shift his head again.

“Hold on a second,” Sasuke tells Naruto.

Naruto stops bouncing and helps Sasuke move so that he’s lying down again. Then Naruto resumes, and Sasuke starts thrusting his hips up to meet him.

Naruto moans and arches his back. Sasuke lets his gaze wander over his boyfriend’s muscular frame. The curly hair above his erection, the broad shoulders and tapered waist, a view that he gets to drink in every inch of. Sasuke decides to flip their positions and sits up, pushing Naruto onto his back. He keeps snapping his hips against Naruto’s, the headboard scratching the wall. Naruto looks up at him, his legs wrapping around Sasuke’s waist.

Sasuke feels something possessive and carnal arise inside him and he leans in. He latches onto the side of Naruto’s neck and sucks on the spot hard. Naruto moans and leans his head back to give Sasuke better access.

After a while, Sasuke bites and lets go of the spot, drawing a gasp from Naruto.

Sasuke looks at Naruto and the mark under his chin.

“Say my name,” Sasuke requests.

“Sasuke,” Naruto gasps. “Sasuke!”

“Hah… Naruto,” Sasuke replies.

His shoulders tense and he stops moving as he comes. Naruto pulls him down and kisses him. When the glaze fades from Sasuke’s eyes, Naruto lets him back up again. Sasuke keeps looking at Naruto as he pulls out. Naruto winces slightly.

“You okay?” Sasuke asks him worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Naruto replies. “Just, you know. A little sore.”

“Yeah…”

They stare into each other’s eyes for a moment and Naruto cups a hand on Sasuke’s jaw.

“I’m the luckiest man alive,” Naruto murmurs.

“Why’s that?” Sasuke murmurs.

“I’ve got you.”

Sasuke smiles and kisses him again. When he backs up again, he takes in the view of Naruto’s body again and realizes that he’s still hard.

“Let me help you with that,” Sasuke suggests, crawling back and lowering his head.

Naruto groans and leans back on his elbows while Sasuke’s mouth works on him.

“Sasuke, I’m close,” Naruto warns after a while.

Sasuke hums and keeps going without pulling back. Naruto cums and Sasuke swallows it.

Once Naruto is finished, Sasuke pulls off with a lewd pop and leans back over Naruto. They kiss again, and this time they don’t separate quickly despite morning breath and the taste of Naruto’s semen.

They stare into each other’s eyes for another moment until Sasuke pulls away and stands up, heading towards the bathroom. He stops in the doorway and looks back at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. Naruto grins and follows him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi stop eavesdropping. And gambling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time, but romantic firework date next time!

Naruto arrives at the tower a few minutes later than usual, but Sasuke made him breakfast too.

Shikamaru chuckles when he walks into Naruto’s office with a stack of fresh reports and sees Naruto.

“You obviously had a good night,” he comments.

“What?” Naruto asks.

Shikamaru taps the same spot on his own neck where Sasuke left a mark on Naruto’s. Naruto’s hand flies up to cover the bruise.

“Damn. That bastard,” he mutters.

“So it was Sasuke, huh?” Shikamaru asks.

Naruto looks at him again.

“Yeah. We’ve agreed to stop hiding anymore.”

“Really? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Shikamaru asks skeptically.

“If the council comes after him again, they’ll have to get past me first,” Naruto promises, fire in his eyes.

Shikamaru chuckles and finally sets down the reports.

“Just try not to kill them. You don’t need that kind of reputation,” Shikamaru tells him.

“Don’t worry,” Naruto responds, smiling.

“Alright. Well, I’ll be off. See you later,” Shikamaru says, walking out the door.

Once it closes behind him, Naruto addresses the familiar presence just outside the open window.

“Kakashi-sensei, you can come in now.”

A head of white hair peeks around the frame, smiling in his eye since his mask covers over half of his face.

“Good morning, Naruto,” he greets, slipping through the window.

“Yeah. So, you heard Shikamaru?” Naruto asks.

“Yes. I guess I owe Yamato some money now,” Kakashi replies with a chuckle.

“You bet on us?!”

Kakashi laughs again.

“Of course we did,” he answers.

“When?” Naruto asks.

“Well, let’s see… about thirteen years ago, I think. He bet me that you’d fall in love with Sasuke once he came back to the village,” Kakashi admits.

“I didn’t think we were that obvious,” Naruto says.

“You weren’t. Yamato and I are experts, you forget,” Kakashi replies.

“But you didn’t know,” Naruto points out.

Kakashi chuckles.

“Naruto, I bet that you already had fallen for him,” he admits. “So, is it really alright if people find out?”

“I told him that we aren’t going to hide it anymore,” Naruto says.

“I think that’s a good choice. Few people are going to be as shocked as you probably think they will,” Kakashi tells him. “Now, I have to go. See you later, Lord Seventh.”

With that, Kakashi jumps back through the window with a wave over his shoulder.

Naruto faces his desk again and flips through some of the pages in front of him until someone else comes into his office. This time, it’s Sakura. He looks up at her and smiles.

“Naruto, Shikamaru told me what happened. Are you sure about this?” she asks him.

“Yeah,” he tells her. “As sure as I can be.”

“You idiot,” she says softly, shaking her head, but she’s smiling. “If you ever need someone’s help, just know that I’m here for you.”

“Thanks, Sakura-chan,” he replies.

She smiles wider and leaves.

Naruto leans back in his chair and picks up the photo of his parents that Iruka gave him. He wishes he could meet them one more time. Their opinion on this situation would be useful. He sighs and rubs a hand over his face. His parents are gone, and so are Sasuke’s, but that doesn’t mean they are completely alone. Naruto sets down the photograph and gets back to work.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firework date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Slight homophobia mentioned, clearly discouraged.

Naruto doesn’t hear from the council for over a month. As New Years rolls around, he decided to test his luck a little and asked Sasuke to go see the fireworks with him. Sasuke agreed only if they go to dinner beforehand, so Naruto is heading to Ino’s family’s flower shop.

“Naruto! What brings you in here? Something for Sasuke?” Ino asks when he comes in.

“Yeah,” he answers. “I’m taking him on a date tonight.”

“Ooh, to see the fireworks?” she asks, leaning on the counter.

“Yep! I’m going to take him out to dinner first,” Naruto tells her.

“Impressive,” Ino comments. “Sakura and I are going to watch the fireworks tonight, too. I heard that they’re supposed to be really amazing this year.”

“We had some special shinobi design them, so I hope so,” Naruto says.

They both chuckle.

“Well, what are you looking to get for him? Bouquet?” Ino questions.

She walks out from behind the counter.

“Yeah, a bouquet. I just don’t what kind,” Naruto claims.

“Okay. Do you know what types of flowers he likes?” Ino asks.

“Not really,” Naruto admits sheepishly.

“That’s fine. We’ll use some red roses for romance, purple violets for thoughtfulness, daisies for innocence, some edelweiss to symbolize devotion, and heliotrope for eternal love. Does that sound alright?” Ino asks.

“Yeah,” he replies.

She smiles again and goes around the shop, gathering various purple, red, and white flowers. She puts them together in a bouquet and hands it to Naruto after she wraps it. He pays for it and she wishes him luck. He thanks her and leaves.

Naruto walks to Sasuke’s apartment and hides the flowers behind his back. Then he knocks on the door. Sasuke opens it and raises an eyebrow at him.

“Hello,” Sasuke greets.

“Hey,” Naruto replies, grinning. “These are for you!”

Sasuke takes the bouquet from him and examines it.

“It’s nice. Thank you. Come inside for a minute,” Sasuke tells him, stepping out of the doorway.

Naruto follows him into the apartment and watches Sasuke find a vase to put the flowers in. Once he does, he fills it and cuts the stems before he puts the flowers into it. Sasuke sets the flower-filled vase on his dining table and looks at Naruto.

“Where are we going for dinner, usuratonkachi?” Sasuke inquires.

Naruto smiles again and takes Sasuke’s hand. He pulls Sasuke closer and presses the tips of their noses together.

“You’ll see,” he murmurs.

Sasuke smiles back and hums. Naruto brushes aside his bangs and looks into Sasuke’s eyes, one black and the other a rippling purple. Sasuke looks back into eyes so blue that he could drown in them.

“I think we should go. It’s starting to get dark,” Naruto suggests softly, after a moment.

“Yeah,” Sasuke agrees.

They part and walk out the door, still holding hands. They ignore the stares they get as they walk. By now, word has gone around that they’re together. As they knew would happen, rumors have spread, but neither of them can find it in themselves to care enough to dissolve them. One woman pulls her child past them hurriedly, telling him not to look, and that is the first time Naruto has experienced something like that. Something inside him starts to burn and he narrows his eyes, but Sasuke grips his hand tighter and inside him, Kurama speaks up.

“Don’t let her bother you, kid. You’re happy with him, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but I don’t understand why people can’t see that,” Naruto replies.

Sasuke glances at him.

“Kurama?” he asks.

Naruto nods.

They continue walking. Finally, they reach the ramen stand that both of them are very familiar with.

“Why am I not surprised?” Sasuke asks.

“Aw, come on bastard. You love ramen,” Naruto tells him, pulling him through the curtains.

“No, you do, ramen-boy,” Sasuke retorts.

“You--! Bastard,” Naruto says, chuckling.

“Hello you two,” Teuchi greets warmly.

“We heard that you’d started dating, but to be honest we’re both a little shocked,” Ayame claims.

“Well, it’s not all that surprising really,” Teuchi adds, scratching the back of his neck.

“Anyway, what can we get you?” Ayame asks.

Naruto orders miso pork ramen for both himself and Sasuke.

While they eat, they don’t talk much. Only after they’ve eaten and paid do they speak again.

“Where should we go?” Naruto asks.

“You didn’t have a spot in mind?” Sasuke inquires.

“I do, but I want to know if there’s somewhere you want to go instead.”

“Hn. Fine, I was considering the dock at the river,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto smiles.

“Yeah, that sounds great. I was actually going to suggest the hill by it.”

“Then let’s go there,” Sasuke says.

“No, I think the dock is better,” Naruto replies.

“Idiot,” Sasuke mutters.

Naruto smiles and pulls him through the streets. They reach the dock and Sasuke walks out onto it first. Naruto follows him, the two of them not releasing the other’s hand the whole time. They get to the end and take off their shoes. No one else is here, surprisingly. They sit down on the edge and dip their feet in the water as they watch the sky.

“Say, Sasuke. What do you think about turning the Uchiha compound into an orphanage?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke looks over at him.

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Ino gave me the idea. The kids from that remaining branch need someplace to go, don’t they? Then Konoha could have somewhere they can live so they don’t have to be alone like you or I were,” Naruto says.

“Yeah. I guess that sounds like a good idea. We’ll need to fix up the buildings,” Sasuke tells him.

“I know. We’ll probably have to rebuild some of them, too. I wanted to see if you liked the idea before I suggested it to anyone else,” Naruto replies.

“I still have some things to collect from the houses there,” Sasuke states.

“I’ll go with you,” Naruto promises.

Sasuke smiles slightly.

“Thank you.”

They lean in for a kiss and just as their lips touch, and the first fireworks explode high overhead. They pull apart after a second to watch them, fingers interlocked.

“Hey, Naruto,” Sasuke says.

“Hm?”

“Why don’t we spend the night at your house?”

Naruto meets his eyes and swallows.

“Yes,” he replies.

Sasuke smirks.

The two of them watch the fireworks together until long past midnight.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut, meeting the daimyo, and orphanages, oh my!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me for being late! School is stressful! I am exhausted! I got eight hours of sleep last night for the first time in months! The first quarter is ending soon and my teachers are throwing tests at us left and right! Why did I sign up for a majority of advanced classes?!

They enter Naruto’s house and Naruto locks the door. He offers Sasuke a drink and he agrees, so Naruto gets out two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. He fills both glasses halfway and hands one to Sasuke.

“To us, and to not hiding anymore,” Naruto says, raising his glass.

“To us and not hiding,” Sasuke replies, bringing his own glass against Naruto’s.

They take a sip and go to Naruto’s living room. In the last few weeks, Naruto bought a sofa, two armchairs, a coffee table, some rugs, a new bed, two new bedside tables, a desk, chair, a bookshelf, and a few miscellaneous objects here and there. Sasuke has started leaving a toothbrush at his house, as well as a few changes of clothes. He’s spent the night seven times in three weeks. It’s no secret to anyone that they’re together. They agreed that Naruto’s office is only a place for work, partially because it’s far too risky for someone to walk in on them.

They sit down beside each other on Naruto’s couch, slightly facing each other.

“You know, these last few weeks have been some of the best of my life,” Sasuke says.

Naruto smiles sheepishly.

“Really?” he asks.

Sasuke smiles softly and watches him, his eyes half-closed. The light is on in the kitchen, but the rest of the house is dark, meaning that the only light on them in the living room right now comes from the kitchen. Naruto is in the light, but Sasuke is at the wrong angle from it. He thinks that it’s fitting for himself to be the one in shadow. After all, Naruto has a smile bright enough to put the sun to shame. Beside him, Sasuke can be nothing but the moon.

“I love you,” Naruto says softly.

Sasuke looks at him but doesn’t say the words back.

They finish off their drinks just looking at each other. Afterwards, Naruto gets up and walks to the kitchen. Sasuke follows behind him with his empty glass. They set them on the counter and Naruto takes Sasuke’s hand to lead him upstairs and into the master bedroom. He closes the door behind them and they lean together into a kiss.

“What do you want to do tonight?” Naruto asks quietly.

“Hn. Are you open to seeing what it’s like with a clone?”

Naruto pauses and pulls back to look him in the eye better.

“You… I mean, yeah,” he says.

Sasuke smirks.

“We don’t have to. It’s just an idea,” he replies.

“No, I like it. I’m just thinking… it might be a little weird to have a threesome with a clone,” he claims.

Sasuke nods understandingly.

“I’m not saying I don’t like the idea,” Naruto assures him. “Just let me think about it for a minute.”

Sasuke takes a step back and walks to the edge of Naruto’s bed. He takes off his vest, shirt, and gloves and folds them in a neat pile. He place the pile on top of Naruto’s dresser and checks the bedside table’s drawer for condoms and lube. They still have enough, but they might need some more soon.

“Alright! Shadow-clone jutsu!” Naruto exclaims.

Another Naruto appears and Sasuke turns around. Suddenly he realizes the situation he just put himself in. Not that he’s upset about it. Then both Narutos start stripping to their boxers.

“This is… um,” Sasuke says.

“Are you okay?” the real Naruto asks, stretching out a hand towards him.

Sasuke gulps and nods.

Naruto smiles a little nervously.

“If you ever, you know, wanna stop, just… let me know,” he tells Sasuke.

“I will,” Sasuke assures him. “Don’t worry, I want this right now.”

“Okay. Then…”

The real Naruto puts his hands on Sasuke’s waist and pulls him close. For now, the clone just stands to the side, watching and staying silent. The real Naruto and Sasuke close their eyes kiss again. Their mouths move as one, something they’ve been getting better at. Naruto loosens Sasuke’s pants until Sasuke is standing in his briefs too. They stumble onto the bed and Naruto leans over him.

“Are you sure?” Naruto asks.

“Dobe. Yes. Thank you,” Sasuke replies, smiling back.

“Alright.”

Naruto leans down and presses his lips to Sasuke’s collar bone. Sasuke tilts his head back and watches the clone out of the corner of his eyes. The clone gulps and blushes.

“Naruto, your clone looks interested,” Sasuke comments.

Naruto hums against his skin and lets his fingers move down Sasuke’s torso deftly, running along the scars he’s memorized.

“I want you for myself a little while longer,” Naruto murmurs.

Sasuke feels his ears and cheeks heat up at that, and blood rushes south as well.

Naruto’s hand presses against Sasuke’s erection through his boxers and Sasuke sighs contentedly. Naruto’s palm presses against him slowly, agonizingly so.

“Fuck,” Sasuke breathes.

The clone actually whimpers.

“Fine,” Naruto says, sitting up but still sitting on Sasuke’s lap.

He looks at his clone and tells it, “Get the lube and condoms that are in the drawer, and take off your boxers.”

His face brightens and he reaches for the drawer. The real Naruto helps Sasuke out of his boxers in the meantime, and takes off his own. The clone hands him the objects and Naruto sets them on the bed beside them.

“Why do we need condoms?” the clone asks.

“They make cleanup easier. You know this already,” Sasuke replies.

“Let’s just get started,” the real Naruto says, tearing open a condom and checking it before rolling it on.

Sasuke picks up one too, and the clone takes another. Once they’re all ready, the real Naruto and his clone look at each other.

“I’m the real one, so I should get to be inside him,” Naruto claims.

“I guess that's fair,” the clone grumbles.

“One of you could fuck me while I blow the other,” Sasuke suggests.

Both of them look at him. Then they glance back at each other and nod once.

“I’ll let you be inside him,” the original states.

“What? Come on, he’s really good with his mouth!” the clone retorts.

“Oh, so we’re discussing this without me, then?” Sasuke interrupts.

“Sorry, Sasuke. I just didn’t really think you’d have a preference,” the original says.

“I don’t, but I can settle this argument. Naruto, the original, I’ll suck you off. Clone, you can fuck me,” Sasuke replies.

They glance at each other.

“You’re just taking his side because he’s the original, but alright,” the clone says, climbing onto the bed.

Naruto positions himself over Sasuke, who sits up slightly. The clone kneels between his legs and works on lubing up his fingers. The original licks his lips and stares down at Sasuke.

“Here,” Sasuke offers, wrapping his fingers delicately around the base of Naruto’s erection. “Put your hand on the headboard. Trust me.”

Naruto breathes out shakily and does as he’s told. The clone starts to work in one finger and it goes in easily thanks to their… recent activities. Sasuke lets go of the original for a minute to pull his hips closer. He holds Naruto’s thigh and kisses the tip. The clone works in a second finger and starts to move them around inside Sasuke. Sasuke licks the head and slowly lets Naruto push into his mouth. The clone manages a third finger and looks up at them.

“I’m going to put it in soon,” the clone warns.

Sasuke hums around Naruto in his mouth, whose only response is a breathy moan.

Sasuke feels the clone’s fingers exit his body only to be replaced by something else. He moans around the original and closes his eyes as they water slightly. It’s always painful at first, but the ecstasy will overpower the pain promptly.

“Hah! Sasuke,” the clone moans.

“Fuck,” the original adds.

Sasuke looks up at him with a dark, predatory gaze and the original moans.

Sasuke hums and pulls Naruto closer, guiding his hips until he takes all of him in.

“Ah! Sasuke!” the original exclaims. “I’m gonna--!”

The original pulls out of his mouth and kneels beside him for a moment. He pulls the condom off and ties it. Sasuke grips the bed’s blankets and watches the clone.

Fuck! Sasuke,” it moans.

Naruto watches them both, realizing just how useful this jutsu might end up being. Technically, shinobi aren’t supposed to use techniques outside of battle, but there are plenty of people who break that rule. Most of them are teenagers who suddenly realize that they can create clones in the likeness of their crush.

Naruto reaches forward and takes Sasuke’s dick in his hand. He squeezes lightly and strokes him in time with the clone’s thrusts. Sasuke comes quickly and Naruto bites his lip while he watches the condom fill. The clone doesn't take much longer, and Naruto disperses him once he pulls out. The condom and the clone’s clothing disperse with it.

“Damn,” Sasuke breathes, looking at Naruto.

“We need to do that again sometime,” Naruto says.

Sasuke laughs breathlessly and nods.

“Can I make a clone that looks like you while you’re out on missions?” Naruto asks.

“Yes, but only if I can do it with you.”

“I’ll send you a real clone just for this,” Naruto tells him jokingly.

They lie down together and stare at the ceiling, holding hands.

“When should we start working on that orphanage?” Sasuke asks.

“Well, both of us have to work a lot, but maybe we can start the next time we both have another day off together,” Naruto replies.

“Yeah. I’d like that,” Sasuke claims.

Sasuke squeezes Naruto’s hand and Naruto sqeezes back. Dawn starts to brighten the sky outside and Sasuke chuckles.

“This reminds me of that morning,” Naruto murmurs.

“Yeah. It does,” Sasuke agrees. “Except this time, we’re not dying.”

They both laugh.

“You should probably go home now,” Naruto says after a while.

“Hn. You should probably be getting ready for work right now,” Sasuke retorts.

“Alright,” Naruto chuckles. “How’s the ANBU?”

“Not bad. I’m much busier during the day than I used to be, but they give me enough time off. I’ve got another mission coming up.”

“I know. Another recon mission, right?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke nods.

“Good luck. I really hope we can help those kids,” Naruto says.

“Yeah. Me too,” Sasuke responds.

They lie together for a few more minutes before both of them sit up and leave the bed. Sasuke gets dressed and makes the bed while Naruto takes a shower. He throws away the condoms and makes two cups of coffee downstairs. Naruto comes down not long afterwards and hugs Sasuke from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder.

“Here, you’ll need caffeine today,” Sasuke says, handing him a steaming mug.

Naruto takes it with a, “Thanks”. Sasuke drinks his mug and then he leaves with a stolen kiss. Naruto washes both empty mugs and sets them on the counter to dry. Then he leaves the house, locking the door behind him.

He gets to his office and starts to work.

Halfway through the day, he asks his secretary to bring him a cup of coffee. She does, and he sips at it. Shikamaru comes in a few minutes later, looking solemn.

“Naruto, the council and the daimyo asked for you to meet with them,” Shikamaru tells him.

Naruto sighs.

“When?”

“Today,” Shikamaru replies.

Naruto swears.

“I’ll be with you, so don’t worry too much, alright?” Shikamaru tells him.

Naruto looks him in the eye.

“I didn’t sleep at all,” he states monotonously.

Shikamaru winces. “Sorry. You can’t reschedule this. It’s your own fault for staying up with Sasuke all night.”

“How did you know I was with Sasuke?” Naruto asks.

“It’s not very hard to guess,” Shikamaru tells him.

Naruto scowls.

“When should I meet with them?”

“They’ve asked you to be there by three.”

“Crap! Then I have to leave right now,” Naruto exclaims, scrambling out of his chair and throwing on his jacket. “Do I need to bring anything?”

“Actually, they’ve asked for you and Sasuke,” Shikamaru states.

“Fuck. Okay. Give me a minute.”

He closes his eyes and focuses on the villagers’ chakra. He zeroes in on Sasuke, who is on top of Konoha’s wall.

“Alright, I found him. Shikamaru, meet us by the gates. I’ll bring him,” Naruto says, opening his eyes again.

They leave the tower and take off in different directions. Naruto finds Sasuke in his ANBU gear and mask and stops in front of him.

“Hokage-sama, what are you doing here?” the ANBU beside Sasuke asks.

“Sasuke, I need you to come with me. The council called us,” Naruto tells his boyfriend in the hawk-mask.

“What, now?”

“Yes! Come on, we’re supposed to be there by three,” Naruto exclaims.

“Lord seventh, what’s going on?” the other ANBU asks.

“It’s nothing!” Naruto assures her, walking away with Sasuke. “We’ll probably be back by the end of the day.”

“Hokage-sama!”

He and Sasuke jump off the side of the wall and land in the street. They race towards the front gates and meet Shikamaru there.

“Let’s go,” Shikamaru says when he sees them.

“Yeah,” Naruto replies.

They take off through the trees. After two and a half hours, they make it to the daimyo’s castle and stop outside, gasping for breath. They sprinted the whole way here. Sasuke removes his ANBU mask. Naruto’s stomach growls and he whines.

“I didn’t eat before we left,” he says.

“Too bad. I don’t get the feeling we’ll have time for that now,” Shikamaru tells him.

They look up to find a company of armed guards walking towards them. With a sigh, the three of them walk towards the soldiers to meet them.

“Lord seventh, Uchiha-san, and Nara-san. Please follow us,” one of the guards requests.

The soldiers surround them and escort them into the castle. They are led up to a room where the daimyo and the council are already seated. Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru take the three seats across from the council, with Naruto beside the daimyo.

“It has come to our attention that a relationship beyond friendship has developed between Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki,” a council member states. “Is this true or false?”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Naruto replies.

“I see. Well, that’s interesting,” the daimyo comments, fanning himself.

‘Man, he’s old,’ Naruto thinks.

“Naruto,” the daimyo asks, “did you let your emotions get in your way when you pleaded for Sasuke-san’s life?”

“Yes,” Naruto admits, “but he’s trustworthy. I swear it.”

“Hm. Is there any proof?” the daimyo inquires.

“Daimyo-sama, Sasuke has been an honorable shinobi of Konoha for years now,” Shikamaru tells him. “He hasn’t shown any signs of betrayal.”

“I see. What do you think?” he asks the council.

“It’s true that Sasuke-san has shown no signs of disloyalty to the Land of Fire since returning to Konoha,” one of them states.

“I say it’s fine,” the second claims.

“Me too,” the last one agrees.

They look towards the daimyo again.

“We do not think he poses a threat to Konoha or the Land of Fire anymore,” the first one says.

“I see. Then, that’s alright, I think,” the daimyo claims. “Sasuke! You may continue living in Konoha.”

“Thank you, daimyo-sama,” Sasuke responds.

“Our concern lies now in the possibility that you, lord seventh, will show favoritism towards Sasuke-san when assigning him missions,” one of the council members states.

“While we trust your judgement, we require your pledge that you will not treat him with any higher status,” the third one says.

“I won’t,” Naruto promises.

“How can we know you won’t go back on your word?” the second one asks.

“Because my way of ninja is to never give up and never go back on my word. After all, that’s how I got Sasuke back to the village,” Naruto replies.

Sasuke smirks and Shikamaru sighs.

“Very well,” the daimyo says. “You two may live your lives together if you wish to, then.”

“Thank you, Daimyo-sama,” Naruto says. “Although, there is something I want to address. I would like your permission to turn the Uchiha compound into an orphanage, and to allow the children being trafficked in other lands to be re-housed there once we eliminate the leaders of the organization.”

“That’s alright, isn’t it? You may do so,” the daimyo responds.

“Thank you,” Naruto tells him.

“Mhm. That is all. You three may return to your village,” the daimyo tells them.

“Thank you, sir,” Sasuke replies.

They stand and bow before they leave. Two guards escort them out of the castle. Afterwards, they head back to Konoha. Naruto insists that they stop for lunch on the way.

~+~+~+~+~

Naruto and Sasuke’s friends help Sasuke move in and take some of his things from the old Uchiha compound out. They host most of their friends for dinner a few nights after Sasuke’s move, and Kiba refuses to stop teasing and asking them about their sex life.

Naruto uses some clones to help the shinobi he assigns to fix up the compound and turn it into an orphanage. Sasuke, Choji, Kiba, Hinata, Lee, and Konohamaru are the ones in charge of the project. Other shinobi help when they can, mostly genin carrying beams and fetching tools. At first, some of the villagers were reluctant to turn a place with such a painful history into something good, but it didn’t take long for the idea to catch like wildfire. Sasuke had to leave on another recon mission halfway through construction, and he hasn’t returned. Naruto refuses to open up the orphanage until Sasuke can be there to hold the ceremony with him.

Consequently, Sasuke gathers the information he needs and hurries home. He now knows everything he can about the organization and is able to track down the leaders and take them out. He’s sure that this time, Naruto is going to send ANBU instead of regular shinobi.

When he returns to the village and gives his report, Naruto tells him that he has a surprise for him. He asks Sasuke to join him after work, and not to go near the Uchiha compound. Sasuke agrees, already figuring it out.

Sasuke meets up with Naruto outside the tower after work and they start walking. After a while, Naruto stops and turns to him.

“Can I blindfold you? I want it to really be a surprise,” he says.

“Fine,” Sasuke sighs.

He closes his eyes and lets Naruto brush back his bangs.

“Your hair is getting a little long. Maybe you should start tying it back,” Naruto suggests, trying a piece of cloth over his eyes.

“Hn.”

Once the blindfold is secure, Naruto spins Sasuke around a few times and they keep walking, Naruto guiding him. They stop eventually.

“Can I take off the blindfold yet?” Sasuke asks, bored.

“Hold on!” Naruto tells him.

He lets go of Sasuke’s hand and unties it. Sasuke looks around at the familiar walls to either side and finally glances up at the sign above. The Uchiha fan over the entryway is repainted and there is a sign on the right side of the arch.

“Welcome to the Uchiha Children’s Resource Center!” the sign reads. Below that, in smaller lettering, “Please see the hokage for housing requests.”

“Wow,” Sasuke comments.

“Hehe. Do you like it? I figured you’d want to carry on your clan’s legacy somehow, dattebayo, and I thought that naming an orphanage after it might be a good idea,” Naruto says.

“Thank you, Naruto.”

“Come on! I wanna show you around,” Naruto tells him, grinning and taking his hand to lead him through the old compound.

The streets have been redone and some of the houses have been entirely rebuilt, while others are repainted and fixed up. There is a library now too, as well as a playground. As Naruto takes him through the place, he comments on everything there is and how he hopes it’ll be used. By the time they reach Sasuke’s old family home, practically untouched except for replaced lights and fixed walls and doors, Sasuke feels more emotional than he has been in a long time. Naruto stops talking about the fact that this building is going to be a housing part and looks at Sasuke worriedly.

He brushes his thumbs across Sasuke’s cheeks and asks him what’s wrong. Sasuke can’t find the words to explain; he just lets his tears fall.

Naruto looks at him for a moment. Suddenly, he pulls Sasuke against his chest and wraps his arms around him. Sasuke cries into his shoulder and Naruto rests his chin on Sasuke’s shoulder.

“I love you more than I could ever explain,” Naruto murmurs.

Sasuke just cries. Naruto doesn’t let him go until his sobs have stopped, and even then all he does it pull back far enough to look him in the eye.

“Are you alright? We can leave if you want to,” Naruto says.

“No, I’m fine, I just… I never expected so much good to come from this place,” Sasuke replies, wiping his eyes.

Naruto smiles slightly.

“Let’s go home. We can come back and do the opening ceremony tomorrow. I’ve already got a few kids who have asked to move in,” Naruto says.

“Really? This early?” Sasuke asks.

“Well, if you or I heard that there was a place opening up for people just like us, we would’ve signed up quickly, dattebayo? After all, then we wouldn’t have had to be alone anymore. We would’ve both had a family,” Naruto tells him.

“You’re right,” Sasuke admits.

Naruto smiles.

“I hate that there are so many kids who are going to need this place, but I’m glad that it exists,” Naruto claims.

“Me too,” Sasuke replies.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiddos and an orphanage.

Two months later, the elite ANBU squad with a few teachers and Sai in their midst return to Konoha with a group of scrawny, ragged-looking children. Some of the ANBU split away from the main group and head to Hokage Tower to deliver their report. Naruto takes it and runs to the orphanage with them to meet the group there.

Sasuke is in the lead.

“Hokage-sama,” he greets, kneeling.

“Welcome back. And to those of you who are new to Konoha, welcome. I hope you’ll enjoy your new homes. If anything goes wrong, just let one of your teachers know, alright? I’ll always be somewhere nearby, too, dattebayo,” Naruto says.

A tall boy who looks about twelve steps forward. He has defiant green eyes. His hair is black, with most of it pulled back in a high ponytail. He has sidebangs that brush his shoulders.

“Who the hell are you?” the boy asks.

Naruto smiles.

“I’m Naruto, the seventh hokage,” he introduces.

The boy sticks his nose up and glares at him.

“Hey! Jirou, he’s the leader of Konoha!” another kid who looks slightly younger than him hisses.

“Shut up, Hitoshi!” Jirou snaps.

Naruto chuckles, reminded of his younger self a little. Defiant, questioning authority, but kind-hearted deep down. Maybe Jirou is a prankster too. Although, that might not be a good thing for Konoha.

“Alright! Listen up, everyone. Kurenai-sensei will hand you a slip of paper with your housing name and room number on it. Each building has a name, so just look around and ask your superiors for yours. Most of you will have roommates. If you have any problems, talk to your superiors.”

“Why can’t we talk to you?” Jirou questions.

“I have to go back to work,” Naruto replies apologetically.

The children start to murmur and disperse, collecting their tags. Sasuke stands and approaches Naruto.

“Let’s go,” he says.

They turn and start to walk away from the compound, but Jirou stops them.

“Sasuke-san, do you know Naruto?” he asks.

“Hey, that’s Naruto-san to you, dattebayo! And how did you two get to know each other, anyway?” Naruto retorts, but both of them ignore him.

“Yes, I do. He’s my friend and lover,” Sasuke answers Jirou.

“Lover?” Jirou questions.

Sasuke nods once.

“Who knows about that?” Jirou inquires.

“Everyone,” Sasuke replies.

“Seriously? And they’re alright with it?”

“More or less.”

“That’s pretty cool. Do you two live separately?”

“No. I live with Naruto,” Sasuke claims.

“Oh. Okay. Where do you guys live?”

They glance at each other for a second. Then Naruto tells him the address.

“I wasn’t asking you, Hokage.”

Smirking, Sasuke gives him the directions instead and Jirou nods understandingly. Naruto throws his hands up in frustration and starts to walk away, but Sasuke stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Naruto, I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yeah. You’ve been gone a while,” Naruto replies, smiling.

Sasuke leans in to whisper in his ear where Jirou can’t hear.

“I want to see if the real you is as good as the clones I summoned.”

“You…! Bastard, you’ll see!” Naruto retorts.

Sasuke’s expression is hidden behind his hawk mask but Naruto knows he’s smirking.

“You. Go report to the ANBU. And pick up dinner on your way home tonight!” Naruto snaps, jabbing a finger into Sasuke’s chest.

“If I find even one empty cup of ramen out, I will try to kill you again,” Sasuke threatens.

Naruto crosses his arms and sticks his nose up defiantly like he used to do as a kid.

“You’ll sleep on the couch, then.”

“As if you have the self-restraint for that,” Sasuke snorts.

“Ew,” Jirou comments.

The two adults look at him. Naruto apologizes. Sasuke just turns and starts to walk away.

“Don’t hurt each other,” he calls out to them with a backwards wave over his shoulder.

Naruto and Jirou scowl at each other.

“I'm not making any promises,” they both respond simultaneously.

Still not glancing back at them, Sasuke smirks.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talks and smut.

Naruto hears the front door open and someone steps in and slips off his shoes before hanging up his cloak. Naruto comes downstairs and meets his boyfriend in the hall.

“Sasuke,” he greets.

“Naruto.”

Sasuke goes into the kitchen and starts to put away the bags of groceries that he bought. Naruto helps him by unloading the groceries onto the counter.

Once they’re all put away, Naruto starts to cook. Sasuke makes himself a glass of whiskey and sips it, leaning against the wall and watching Naruto. Once the meal is finished cooking, they sit at the table and eat in comfortable silence.

“I missed you,” Naruto admits.

“Hn. Me too, usuratonkachi,” Sasuke replies.

They make eye contact and smile slightly at each other.

“So, what’s with that Jirou kid?” Naruto asks eventually.

“He somehow decided that I’m a decent human being after seeing me kill the man in charge of the branch.”

Naruto snorts.

“You know you’ve got a mask for a reason, right?”

“Relax, he doesn’t know what my face looks like,” Sasuke replies.

“He knows your name and he knows that we’re together. It won’t take him long to figure out exactly who you are,” Naruto points out.

Sasuke shrugs slightly.

“He’s actually a lot like you were,” he claims.

“That isn’t inherently a good thing,” Naruto says.

Sasuke chuckles.

“I guess not, but I think you’ll get along once he opens up to you. Just give him a chance.”

“You like him,” Naruto accuses, pointing his fork at him.

“He’s a decent kid.”

“You’re showing favoritism, Sasuke.”

“Tch,” Sasuke snaps, turning his head.

“If I give you genin you’ll have to treat them all equally,” Naruto states.

“Why the hell would you give me genin?”

“Why not?”

Sasuke stares at him like he just asked why shinobi carry weapons.

“Hey, you’d be a great teacher!” Naruto claims.

“Yeah, right,” Sasuke snorts. “I have enough to worry about with you and my ANBU duties.”

“Come on, bastard. It’s not like I’d assign them to you immediately. The academy students don’t graduate for a few more months,” Naruto says.

“I’m certain the only reason why Jirou likes me is because I disposed of the man who killed his parents and older brother,” Sasuke states.

“So? The kids will warm up to you eventually,” Naruto tells him.

“It’s not a good idea for me right now. Let me be ANBU for another year or two and then maybe I’ll consider it,” Sasuke says.

Naruto pouts, but they both know Sasuke won. Sasuke is probably the only person in the world who can out-stubborn Naruto Uzumaki.

They finish their meal and take the dishes to the kitchen. After cleaning, Naruto traps Sasuke against the counter with a kiss, albeit sloppy.

“God, I missed this,” Sasuke murmurs.

Naruto hums and his hands start to drift across Sasuke’s body.

“Did you use clones while I was gone?” Sasuke asks.

“I only had time for one,” Naruto admits.

“That’s unfortunate. I guess I’ll have to make up for that then,” Sasuke responds.

Then his mouth is on Naruto’s neck and god, he missed this.

“Do you want to go to the bedroom now?” Naruto asks.

“Fuck, I don’t care,” Sasuke breathes.

Naruto bites his neck and Sasuke gasps, because Naruto knows how to do it right.

“What if,” Naruto suggests, laying kisses along Sasuke’s neck between words, “you let me… suck you off here… and then… we go upstairs?”

“Yes,” Sasuke answers.

Naruto hums again and his fingers start unbuckling Sasuke’s ANBU vest. Sasuke shrugs it off and it lands on the counter behind him, the sheathed sword clattering. Naruto’s fingers run along the waistband of his pants. Naruto pulls away only to look into his boyfriend’s eyes. Sasuke leans back against the counter. Naruto looks at him serenely and Sasuke feels his heart melt a little more, because he’ll be damned if he ever lets this idiot slip away.

“Sasuke, is something wrong?” Naruto asks softly.

“Not at all,” Sasuke replies.

His tone must be as sickly adoring as he feels because Naruto smiles, and Sasuke can’t stand it because he doesn’t deserve that brighter-than-the-sun smile. After the things he did during the war, he doesn’t deserve this beautiful blonde idiot with a heart of gold. For the first time in Sasuke’s life, he realizes what it’s like to be truly and unconditionally loved. He’s had it all this time and just been blind, oh so blind. Naruto stops and kisses him again, he kisses the tears falling down his face and doesn’t even ask about them, he just kisses him again and again and doesn’t show any sign of stopping. Sasuke can’t think of anything besides how much he absolutely loves this idiot. He would tear the world apart if someone tries to hurt him, and he knows that Naruto would do the same for him.

God save them both.

After what feels like far too short a moment but realistically was probably quite a few minutes, they stop and just stare into each other’s eyes.

“I love you,” Sasuke whispers, like it’s his deepest secret, and maybe it was once.

“I know,” Naruto tells him, smiling. “I love you too.”

They laugh breathlessly and hold each other.

“Why don’t we just go to bed?” Sasuke suggests eventually.

“Yeah,” Naruto agrees. “That sounds nice.”

They take each other’s hand and walk upstairs together. They undress and climb into bed beside each other, both of them lying on their sides, facing each other. Their legs are intertwined and their faces are close. Naruto brushes Sasuke’s bangs out of his eyes.

“Your hair’s grown out,” he comments.

“Yeah.”

“You should start tying it back or something,” Naruto suggests. “If you want to, -ttebayo.”

“Alright. I’ll consider it. It does sometimes get in my way during missions, and my mask hides the rinnegan for me,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto smiles slightly.

“Thank you.”

“Hn. So, how have things been?” Sasuke replies. “I presume you would have contacted me if anything major happened.”

“Yeah. Oh, but Taka came back. Their mission was successful.”

“It’ll be interesting to see how Karin reacts to our relationship,” Sasuke comments.

“Yes,” Naruto agrees, an edge to his voice.

“Are you nervous?”

“A little.”

“We’re both stronger than her,” Sasuke reminds him.

“I know, but sometimes I get this creepy sense like she’s watching me or something, even if her chakra’s far away,” Naruto admits.

Thinking about how Karin is able to sense people’s chakra as well as the blonde idiot in front of him, he realizes that she already knows they live together now.

“I’m sure everything is going to be fine,” Sasuke tells him. “Now get some rest. We both have to work tomorrow.”

“Right. Goodnight, Sasuke.”

“Goodnight, dobe.”

Their eyes close and drift off to sleep.

~+~+~+~+~

Sasuke gets the best night of sleep he’s had since he left on the recovery mission. What makes it even better is waking up with Naruto wrapped around him, resting his head on Sasuke’s shoulder. Sasuke’s arm is wrapped around him, keeping him close, and Naruto smiles up at him.

“Good morning,” he whispers.

“Hn,” Sasuke replies.

“Hm… We’ve got a little time before we have to get up,” Naruto claims.

Sasuke smirks.

“Got any suggestions?” Naruto asks.

“A few,” Sasuke replies, sitting up to crawl under the covers.

He stops when he’s lying between Naruto’s legs, his hand on his thigh. Both of them slept in their boxers last night, which makes this easier. Sasuke begins by laying kisses above his waistline. Eventually, he stops and breathes over Naruto’s clothed hard-on.

Naruto exhales a shuddering breath. Sasuke pulls down Naruto’s boxers, exposing his erection. For a moment, Sasuke just admires it.

“Sasuke,” Naruto growls out.

Sasuke chuckles, making sure his breath fans over the sensitive skin.

“Impatient,” he murmurs.

He stops Naruto from saying anything else by licking the bitter drop of pre-cum off the slit. He starts swirling his tongue around the head and closes his eyes, letting the feel guide him. One of Naruto’s hands entwines itself in Sasuke’s hair, keeping it out of the way.

Sasuke thanks him by taking the head completely into his mouth and sucking. Naruto’s grip tightens slightly and he moans. Sasuke hums and swirls his tongue around it again, this time inside his mouth.

“Ah, fuck!” Naruto gasps.

Sasuke dips his head lower until the head brushes against the back of his throat. Naruto isn’t small, but Sasuke is going to take his time with this. He pulls off and breathes, using his hand instead for a moment.

He glances up at the seal on Naruto’s abdomen and smiles slightly while he strokes his erection. After another moment, he closes his eyes again and dips down. This time, he doesn’t stop when Naruto brushes the back of his throat. He doesn’t stop until his nose is buried in the wiry hair at the base.

Naruto moans his name and Sasuke feels him press his hips up, so he pushes them back down with his hand.

After a few more minutes, Naruto cums. Sasuke swallows it and pulls the covers back to look at his lover’s expression. Naruto is gorgeous, and even more so when he’s coming down from an orgasm.

“I love you,” Sasuke tells him again, because god, he does.

“Kiss me,” Naruto requests.

Sasuke obliges.

When they break apart, they rest their foreheads together and look into each other’s eyes.

“I can taste myself,” Naruto comments.

“Do you like it?” Sasuke responds.

“Yeah, actually. It’s kinda hot, ya know?” Naruto says.

Sasuke blushes. Naruto snickers and caresses his cheek.

“You’re really cute when you blush,” Naruto murmurs.

“Shut up, usuratonkachi.”

Naruto hums and the hand on Sasuke’s cheek trails down the side of his neck, then across his clavicle, and finally down his chest to wrap around the base of Sasuke’s erection.

“That looks painful. Do you want me to take care of it for you?” Naruto asks lowly.

Sasuke looks into his heated gaze and wonders how someone trapped the sky in Naruto’s eyes. Then Naruto’s hand starts to move and Sasuke forgets how to think about anything but the sensation.

He finishes embarrassingly fast and expects Naruto to make fun of him, but instead the idiot just says, “It really has been a while, huh?”

Sasuke lies down beside him and takes his hand.

“Is it too late for both of us to call in sick?” he asks.

Naruto laughs.

Sasuke and Naruto get up and shower eventually, where round two commences. This time, Sasuke takes a more normative amount of time. After they dry off and get dressed, and after they clean up, they go downstairs and eat breakfast.

They leave the house together and share a brief kiss on the doorstep. Then Sasuke disappears. Naruto walks calmly to the tower and greets the villagers along the way. He gets to his office and starts to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack. I promise I'm not just being lazy, I actually don't have a lot of free time these days with extracurriculars, volunteering, school, homework, studying, friends, and my family. I've been trying to keep up with my stories, but I've taken to writing on the way to and from school, between classes, and right before bed. Please forgive me for falling behind.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke you'd better be careful, someone might start to think you actually like children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe we're halfway there. Wow. So, um, looks like if I keep posting a chapter a week, we'll be finished in February.

A few days later, Shizune comes to the office looking frazzled.

“Naruto-san, some of the older kids want to apply for the academy,” she tells him.

“Alright. Which ones?” he asks.

She states a list of six names and among them is Jirou Hirosuke.

“I see. Send them here. I’ll talk to them about the academy and Konoha’s expectations,” Naruto responds.

She nods and leaves. Twenty minute later, she returns with the six children in tow. Naruto looks at each of them, frowning slightly.

“Where are each of you from?” he asks.

They list their countries of origin. Jirou is from the Land of Waves. A boy and girl, probably twins, are from the Land of Rain. They both have almost-white hair and intelligent eyes. Two more girls with fierce expressions and hard eyes are from the Land of Wind. A boy with messy brown hair is from the Land of Lightning, but his eyes are narrow and there’s a promising light behind them.

“Why do each of you want to become Konoha shinobi?” Naruto questions.

Jirou, the twins, and the boy from the Land of Lightning want to become strong enough to fight for themselves. The girls from the Land of Wind want revenge.

Naruto frowns at that, remembering Sasuke’s soul-consuming search for revenge all those years ago.

“Are the two of you related?” he asks them.

“No,” they answer simultaneously.

“We’re friends,” the girl on Naruto’s left claims.

“We met when I was taken,” the second girl says.

They don’t look related besides their expressions, but nonetheless. The first girl has long, tied back black hair, and the other has short blonde hair.

Naruto looks at Jirou. Then he glances at the other three.

“You’ll make exceptional shinobi. Study hard. You’ll join the academy in four months.”

The brown-haired boy pumps his fist and the others turn to go.

“One second. What are all your names?” Naruto asks.

“Jirou Hirosuke.”

“Kamike Somi,” the female twin states.

“Kirame Somi,” her brother adds.

“Sane Kioshi,” the Land of Lightning boy introduces.

“Ziroshi Tabito,” the black haired girl says.

“Wakiya Haru,” the blonde claims.

“I’m Naruto, the seventh hokage of Konoha. It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Naruto tells them, smiling kindly. “I hope you like Konoha.”

“Thank you,” they respond, bowing slightly.

Shizune herds them out of Naruto’s office and closes the door behind her.

“They seem like good kids,” Kurama claims.

“Yeah,” Naruto responds, going back to his paperwork.

~+~+~+~+~

The academy graduates are assigned to their genin teams. Ino, Choji, Tenten, Lee, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, and Hinata are assigned as leaders this year.

Sasuke makes it clear that he’s grateful to Naruto for not making him be one this year, even though Naruto swears to him that he’ll have to fulfill team seven’s duty, since Sakura is too valuable to the hospital and Naruto is indispensable to the village as a whole.

Not to mention, it’d be a little unfair to be the hokage’s student.

In the summer, Naruto makes a show of taking Sasuke out for dinner with some of their friends. Sakura and Ino have moved into an apartment together. Kiba and Hinata have started dating as well. Lee and Tenten are old news, and Temari comes with Shikamaru. After dinner, they all split up and head home. Naruto’s biggest gift to Sasuke is one night to do whatever he wants to Naruto.

Both of them enjoy it immensely.

The children have adapted well to the village, and Konoha’s residents to them. At the beginning of school, the new students join the academy, including the six that came from the trafficking branch. Their homeroom teacher is Shino.

The orphanage has become what Naruto and Sasuke hoped that it would; a place for all of Konoha’s youth, with parents or not. There’s a regular elementary school there now, and the library is popular. Any sign of bullying is reported directly to Naruto by the area’s “guards”, who are really just volunteers who watch over the children. The victim is often taken on a walk by Naruto and if they admit to anything at all negative happening to them, the bully is sent to see Naruto in his office the very next day. It becomes well known that picking on anyone is not tolerated.

Sasuke visits the orphanage often. He pretends to be annoyed by the children who run up to him or stare from afar in wonder, particularly if he’s wearing his ANBU uniform, but he treats them more kindly if he’s dressed normally. Very few have made the connection between Sasuke-san and the hawk-masked ANBU officer.

In fact, only Jirou has.

Sasuke appreciates the fact that he’s kept it a secret. So much so that one day, he invites Jirou over for dinner without telling Naruto.

“Welcome home!” Naruto calls from his office upstairs.

“We have company!” Sasuke replies, Jirou and himself taking off their shoes.

Naruto comes down the stairs after a moment and crosses his arms.

“You could’ve sent me a text,” he grumbles.

Sasuke shrugs slightly.

“Whatever. It’s your turn to cook, bastard,” Naruto replies.

Sasuke sighs and hangs up his cloak. Jirou watches him go into the kitchen and then shifts his gaze to Naruto. They look at each other defiantly for a minute.

“Oi! Usuratonkachi, put on a movie or something, don’t just glare at him,” Sasuke calls without turning to look at them.

Naruto uncrosses his arms and gestures for Jirou to come to the living room with him. Jirou reluctantly follows. They sit on the couch as far from each other as possible, and Naruto turns on the TV.

“Who are you?” Jirou asks.

Naruto looks at him.

“I’ve told you, I’m the--”

“No, I know you’re the hokage. That’s not what I meant. Who are you? What are you like? What were your parents like? How’d you grow up?” Jirou questions.

Naruto watches him carefully. Jirou just stares back intently. Naruto shuts off the TV and turns slightly to face him better.

“My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I grew up in Konoha, and I was alone at the beginning. My parents are dead. My father was the fourth hokage, Minato Namikaze, and my mother was Kushina Uzumaki. I met them during the fourth great shinobi war. Sasuke is my rival. He and I have been dating for just under two years now.”

“October 4th,” Sasuke calls.

“Yes,” Naruto responds.

“So, who took care of you?” Jirou inquires.

“Hm? Old man Sarutobi did when I was really little, I guess… No one really wanted anything to do with me because of the power sealed inside me. Eventually though, I made friends and had teachers. Those are the people who became my family. Like Sasuke. Right, bastard?”

“Hn.”

“Is that all you wanted to know?” Naruto asks.

“Yeah, I guess,” Jirou responds.

“So, what are you like?” Naruto questions.

Jirou frowns slightly.

“My younger brother and I were orphaned by my older brother, who killed our parents and then himself. We wandered the Land of Waves for a long time, surviving off stolen food. Eventually, Yoshimara found us and took us.”

“Yoshimara was the leader of the branch,” Sasuke supplies.

“I see,” Naruto says. “What sort of things do you like, Jirou?”

“Hm… I like ramen, and I like playing games. I also like my little brother. What about you?”

“I like Konoha and my friends, and I really like Sasuke,” Naruto answers.

“Dobe. That much is obvious,” Sasuke claims.

He’s leaning in the kitchen doorway now. Jirou and Naruto look over at him.

“What about you, Sasuke-san?” Jirou inquires. “I barely know anything about you.”

“Good,” Sasuke replies.

“Come on, bastard,” Naruto whines.

Sasuke rolls his eyes.

“I became a shinobi to kill a certain man. I hate lots of things, and I don’t like anything in particular,” Sasuke tells them. “Besides Naruto.”

“That’s not very specific,” Jirou claims.

“Yeah, because he just said the same thing he did when our old sensei asked us to introduce ourselves as kids,” Naruto says, pouting.

Sasuke smirks.

“I’m not going to give you my life story. There’s a reason people avoid me,” he tells Jirou.

“Who?” Naruto asks, narrowing his eyes.

Sasuke rolls his eyes with a sigh.

“It doesn’t matter, usuratonkachi. How many times do I have to tell you? You’ve done the best you can. It doesn’t change what happened,” Sasuke states.

Naruto scowls, but they both know that Sasuke is right.

“What did you do that’s so unforgivable?” Jirou asks.

The two adults look at him, then glance at each other again, and finally back at Jirou.

“Lots of things,” Sasuke tells him, “but the basic summary is this: I became a missing-nin. Naruto pleaded for my life when I returned.”

“Woah, people wanted to kill you?” Jirou asks in awe.

“Yes.”

“That must have been scary,” Jirou comments.

Naruto and Sasuke look at each other again. The youngest generation doesn’t have memories of the war. They aren’t familiar with it, or with never knowing if you or someone you care about is going to die on a mission.

“I guess it was,” Naruto answers for his boyfriend.

Jirou watches them curiously for a moment. Then a timer goes off in the kitchen and Sasuke disappears.

“So, did you have people trying to kill you at some point too?” Jirou asks Naruto.

“Yes,” Naruto answers, smiling slightly.

“Wow. Who?”

“Well, there was some of Konoha’s villagers when I was a little kid… There was Akatsuki too… Sasuke tried a few times… and I guess there were a few miscellaneous opponents as well,” Naruto tells him thoughtfully.

Jirou’s eyes widen.

“Why did you marry someone who tried to kill you?!” he exclaims.

“We’re not married,” Naruto responds. “It’s complicated.”

“Your relationship or why you got together?”

“Both.”

Jirou snorts.

“Try to explain it to me,” he requests.

“Well… Sasuke and I were teammates as kids. Then he left the village to train under Orochimaru and became a missing-nin.”

“Wait, the same Orochimaru who spends like all his time in Konoha’s labs?”

“Yes. How do you know him?” Naruto asks, frowning suspiciously.

“His kid visits the orphanage sometimes,” Jirou explains.

“I see. Well, yes, that Orochimaru. There was a time when he wanted to destroy Konoha, and he wanted Sasuke’s power, so he gave him something called a curse mark and trained him. Sasuke killed him, or at least so we thought, and went after his brother to avenge his clan with the help of a few friends. After that, he joined Akatsuki and eventually came after Konoha. I managed to stop him and bring him home,” Naruto recounts.

“I can tell my own life story, thank you,” Sasuke says, coming back into the living room. “By the way, dinner’s ready.”

“Thanks,” Naruto responds, standing up.

Jirou stands as well and the three of them go to the dining room and sit at the table.

“Wow, Sasuke! You made ramen?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke gives him a look and Naruto grins, picking up his chopsticks. Jirou follows his example and they start to eat.

“Wow,” Jirou comments after the first mouthful. “This isn’t bad.”

“Hn.”

“Say, Sasuke, how have your missions been going?” Naruto asks.

“Dobe. I report all of them to you,” Sasuke replies.

“Have you seen my office? I’ve been behind on reports for months. I barely even skim the ANBU stuff, since you guys take care of everything well enough.”

“That’s not a very good habit for the hokage to be in,” Sasuke comments.

“I know, bastard, but it’s not like I’ve got much of a choice. It’s hard enough to keep everything around Konoha in balance, and that’s without TV interviews and everything else.”

“Why don’t you just hire someone to help you?” Jirou asks.

“I do, and Shikamaru’s a life saver for sure. My secretary is awesome too, but I’ve got a busy job,” Naruto says.

“Do you use clones then?” Jirou inquires.

“Often, yes.”

“How do we know that you’re not a clone?” Jirou asks suspiciously.

Sasuke snorts.

“Because I’d kill him if he didn’t come home for dinner in person,” he claims.

“Yeah,” Naruto admits, chuckling. “I have a clone at the office right now.”

“Hm,” Jirou hums.

They chat during the rest of the meal over idle things. How life is at the orphanage, how Jirou is adjusting to the academy, what friends he’s made. Naruto can tell that his chakra is developing. After dinner, Jirou walks home. Naruto and Sasuke clean up and make their way to the bedroom. While they’re undressing and putting away their weapons, Naruto speaks up.

“He does seem like a decent kid.”

“Yes. He’s smart, too,” Sasuke agrees.

“Say, Sasuke, what do you think about becoming a teacher this year?” Naruto asks.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, someone from our team has to take on a genin team, and Sakura and I are both too busy,” Naruto says.

“You’re serious? I thought we had this discussion already.”

“That was almost a year ago, bastard! And you said, ‘Give me another year or two and I’ll do it,’” Naruto claims.

“No, I said, ‘Let me be ANBU for another year or two and then maybe I’ll consider it,’” Sasuke replies. “I’m considering it, and I don’t want to.”

“Too bad. I’m the hokage, so you’re still under my orders, and if I say you’re getting genin, you’re getting genin,” Naruto tells him. “We’re at a shortage of shinobi who want to do it, so I have to assign some people this year instead of letting only the volunteers be teachers.”

“I could strangle you,” Sasuke threatens.

“You already would’ve if you really wanted to,” Naruto claims.

Sasuke rolls his eyes but doesn’t deny it. They climb into bed and lie down facing each other.

“At least try to make sure I don’t get an annoying team.”

“Don’t worry. I already have a few of them in mind,” Naruto promises.

Sasuke narrows his eyes suspiciously. Naruto grins back.

“I doubt they’ll pass my exam,” Sasuke claims.

“Whatever, I’ll just assign them to you again the next year. And the next, until they do pass.”

“You’re sadistic.”

Naruto laughs.

Sasuke turns to face the other way and feels Naruto curl around him. It annoys him slightly, but he doesn’t bother moving or saying anything else.

At least, not until he feels something poking him in the ass.

“Naruto, you can just ask if you want to have sex,” Sasuke comments.

“I… That’s…” Naruto stammers.

Sasuke turns back around and traps him in a kiss. He rolls on top of him and Naruto turns onto his back, kissing him back. Their hands and mouths start to wander. Naruto sits up and reaches for the lube in his bedside drawer. Sasuke keeps pressing his lips against Naruto’s skin, sometimes biting too, each time drawing a sharp intake of breath from his boyfriend. Naruto finally finds the bottle he was looking for and smears it onto his fingers. Sasuke grinds against him until he can’t stand it anymore, so he backs off just long enough to slip off his own underwear and Naruto’s, tossing both over the side of the bed unceremoniously. He straddles Naruto’s lap again and goes back to leaving kisses, bruises, and bite marks along his boyfriend’s shoulders and neck.

Naruto wraps his arms around Sasuke’s waist and Sasuke feels two slicked fingers pressing against his ass. He tries to relax and feels the first one slip inside him. He winces slightly at the stretch of the second one, and by the third he stops leaving marks on his beautiful partner’s tan skin.

Naruto kisses him, hot and open-mouthed as he stretches Sasuke, preparing him for the last challenge. If it can even be called that.

Finally, finally, Sasuke tells him to hurry up, and Naruto wastes no time aligning himself and letting Sasuke sink down on his aching cock. Naruto lets out a low moan and Sasuke kisses him. Naruto leans his back against the headboard and eventually, Sasuke starts to move. He starts slowly, pulling up before slamming back down. As they start to get a decent rhythm going, Naruto starts to adjust his angle until Sasuke throws his head back with a loud moan. Naruto grins and keeps trying to maintain that angle. The two of them long ago gave up on trying to keep the wall that their bed is against completely free of scratches and knocks. The indent of the headboard is clearly marked already, after almost a year’s thorough use.

Naruto’s fingers wrap around Sasuke’s length and he strokes him in time with his own upward thrusts. Sasuke slams down to meet his every one, most of them hitting that sweet spot within Sasuke. Sasuke comes first, spilling his seed over both their chests. After another moment, Naruto asks if he can move Sasuke and keep going.

“Yes,” Sasuke answers breathlessly, looking at him through hazy eyes.

Naruto flashes him a grin before he tilts Sasuke onto his back and holds his lower back up. He starts moving again and Sasuke rides out the last remnants of his orgasm. He realizes with startling clarity that Naruto just gave him possibly the best one of his life.

“That was fucking amazing,” Sasuke breathes, watching Naruto’s euphoric expression as he pounds into him.

Naruto moans Sasuke’s name and cums, hard, inside him. Sasuke winces a little at the feeling, but feels his body responding already.

“God, Sasuke, I love you,” Naruto claims, resting his forehead on Sasuke’s shoulder.

“Fuck, hokage-san, I love you too,” Sasuke responds, burying his fingers in his lover’s blonde hair.

He has grown it out a little.

Naruto pulls out and kisses Sasuke again, but this time the fire behind it is gone, replaced by desperation, like both of them are drowning and their only source of air is each other. They both understand that they should go clean themselves off, but neither wants to break this kiss.

Eventually, they have to stop and breathe. Sasuke is the first one to get up and head to the bathroom, and Naruto follows him. Instead of their usual shower, Sasuke starts to fill the bathtub. Naruto hangs back and watches him. Sasuke goes to the mirror and opens one of the drawers below the sink. He takes out a ribbon and holds his hair up. He ties it back and Naruto feels himself blushing.

“What?” Sasuke asks, turning to him.

“You look really good,” Naruto responds.

“Usuratonkachi. As usual,” Sasuke says, smirking.

“Bastard,” Naruto retorts, stepping closer and circling his hands around Sasuke’s waist.

Sasuke hums and their lips meet once more. They can feel each other starting to harden at the contact. Naruto pulls away before anything else happens, and pulls Sasuke towards the nearly-full tub. They step into the water and sit down, facing each other, legs tangled together in between while the tub fills the last of the way. Naruto shuts off the faucet. Sasuke lays his head back against the edge.

“Can you imagine what our younger selves would’ve done if they could see us now?” Naruto asks, smiling.

“I think I would’ve actually tried to kill you,” Sasuke states calmly.

Naruto chuckles and leans his head back as well.

They soak in silence for a while, comfortable in each other’s presence.

Then Naruto moves and straddles Sasuke’s lap. He captures Sasuke’s lips again and Sasuke braces his feet against the far side of the tub, preventing himself from slipping under the surface of the water. Their erections press together, drawing a groan out of both of them. Sasuke wraps his hand around them and Naruto’s hips jerk slightly. Sasuke starts to move his hand and Naruto braces one of his against the edge of the tub. The other, he wraps around them as well and helps Sasuke bring them both to completion.

“You know, dirtying the water kind of defeats the purpose of bathing in the first place,” Naruto comments.

“Shut up,” Sasuke replies, still panting from his high.

Naruto grins that dumb grin of his and opens his mouth to say something, but Sasuke silences him with a kiss.

By the time they leave the tub, the water is filthy and they are both exhausted. They crawl back into bed with an agreement to clean the bathtub in the morning. Both of them sleep the best they have in a long time.

~+~+~+~+~

Naruto has Shikamaru take care of the Chunin exams each time they roll around, if Konoha is the country in charge of them. This year is no exception. However, Naruto has to be the one working on organizing the exams coming up next. He has been working with the other four kage to create the first chunin exam sponsored by all five great shinobi nations, and he can’t wait to see the results.

When Naruto assigns Sasuke a team of genin, he doesn’t expect Sasuke to treat them well. That is why he chose kids who wouldn’t put up with his hazing, and one who already likes him.

Sasuke, however, is still not the least bit thrilled to have to put up with three children until they become chunin and he can let them find another master.

He arrives a few minutes late intentionally, clueless as to what kind of test he’ll give his students. He sees Konohamaru leaving with Orochimaru’s child, Kamike Somi, and Sane Kioshi as he heads to the academy. They exchange brief greetings and Sasuke passes him, entering the schoolyard. He sees Jirou sitting in the old swing that Naruto used to sit in as a child and smiles to himself slightly. He regains a stoic expression by the time he approaches his team, though.

“Come with me,” he tells them.

Jirou and the two girls from the Land of Wind follow him through Konoha. Eventually, they get to the dock where Sasuke learned the fireball technique and sit, Sasuke facing the three of them.

“Names,” Sasuke requests.

“Aw, come on Sasuke-san! You know me,” Jirou tells him.

“I do. I was asking the others.”

“I’m Ziroshi Tabito,” the black-haired girl states solemnly.

“And I’m Wakiya Haru,” the blonde girl adds, smiling serenely.

“What are your dreams?” Sasuke asks them.

“We want to avenge both of our families,” Ziroshi claims.

“They were killed by the people who took us,” Wakiya tells him.

“I want to become strong enough to fight for myself,” Jirou pipes up.

Sasuke realizes why Naruto seemed so sure that Sasuke would like his genin enough not to fail them the second he met them.

Speaking of the blonde idiot he somehow fell in love with, he is sitting at the top of the hill, concealing his chakra well enough that Sasuke can only sense it because of their link. Sakura is beside him. Both of them are grinning and eating bentos. Sadistic.

The genin have no idea they are being watched by the hokage and the head of Konoha’s hospital. Really though, Sasuke is the one being watched here.

“Alright,” Sasuke tells the kids. “You have all graduated and learned the ways of Konoha shinobi. Listen closely to what I’m about to say. If you do not pass my test, you will all be sent back to the academy for another year.”

Jirou gulps and Wakiya stops smiling.

“Go to training ground 8 at 10 in the morning, tomorrow. I’ll be waiting. I don’t suggest eating breakfast. Or dinner, for that matter. Good luck,” Sasuke tells them.

Then he disappears. Naruto and Sakura turn to face him.

“You’re giving them the same test as Kakashi’s?” Sakura asks.

“Yes,” Sasuke replies, sitting with them.

“Why?” Naruto inquires.

“If there’s anything you’ve taught me, it’s that betraying your comrades is the worst thing a person can do,” Sasuke claims, avoiding eye contact with either of his former teammates. He feels Naruto’s hand settle on his shoulder and Sakura’s on his knee and looks up to find both of them smiling at him. Sasuke stands and they let their hands drop.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have some bells to buy,” Sasuke says.

He turns and walks away. Naruto and Sakura glance at each other and stand. Then they head back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a day off so I'll try to get back into editing some more! Wish me luck!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genin!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *throws this chapter into the abyss a day late and Naruto runs away*

The next morning, Sasuke is sitting in the middle of the training ground where team seven first learned arguable the most important rule of the shinobi, and waits. Unsurprisingly, Wakiya and Ziroshi arrive together at precisely five minutes before 10. Jirou, on the other hand, shows up fifteen minutes late.

“Sorry, there was this huge chicken--” he starts to say, but Sasuke silences him by putting his hand up.

“Listen up,” Sasuke tells the three of them. “I have two bells. Your goal is to try to steal one. Whoever manages to catch a bell by dusk will pass, and receive dinner. Whoever does not catch a bell by that time will not. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” the three of them state in unison.

“Good. Now, let the test begin.”

The three of them lunge towards him and he disappears again, landing twelve feet away and holding the two bells up.

“I have one sword and one arm,” Sasuke informs them. “However, if you do not attack with the intent to kill, I’m afraid none of you will accomplish anything.”

Their faces harden and they each draw a weapon.

Sasuke disappears again and watches from the trees as the kids decide to split up to search for him. The girls’ teamwork is excellent, but they will need to learn to work with Jirou. Sasuke watches as Wakiya gets stuck in one of the traps he set and leans against the tree trunk with a sigh. He sends a shadow clone to talk to her.

“S-sensei!” she exclaims when he seems to materialize in front of her.

“Wakiya,” he responds. “You failed to recognize an obvious trap. One of the basic rules of being a shinobi is to be observant.”

She squeaks and apologizes.

Suddenly, Ziroshi’s kunai come sailing towards the clone and dissipates it, cutting Wakiya down in the same shot. Sasuke smirks and stands up. Ziroshi runs away from her previous location and Sasuke corners her.

“Nice try,” he tells her.

She scowls and draws another kunai.

“I won’t be held back by the likes of you!”

“By the likes of me?” Sasuke asks.

“Yeah! I heard the villagers talking about you! You’re a deserter of your village!” she tells him.

Sasuke’s eyes narrow dangerously, the sharingan activating, and she swallows. Then she charges towards him. He blocks each of her attacks and eventually pins her to the ground with his knee.

“Arrogance. Don’t judge someone based on the things you hear about them,” he warns her. “A shinobi’s past is not his present, and you’ll do well to remember that.”

She twists away and reaches for the bells. He dodges quickly and traps her in a genjutsu. She gasps right before she falls to her knees, unconscious. He shows her an image of Wakiya, injured and crawling out from behind a tree.

“Ziro-chan…”

Her eyes go wide and she screams. Sasuke ends the genjutsu.

“A shinobi must learn when to recognize genjutsu and release it.”

She stares at him, shocked, and he walks away. Jirou is standing in the middle of a field, cross-legged and frowning.

“Aha! I knew you’d show up if I waited!” he exclaims when he sees Sasuke walking towards him. “Now, give me one of those bells!”

Sasuke looks at him calmly. Jirou holds out his hand. Eventually, Sasuke raises an eyebrow and Jirou’s face falls.

“You’re really not gonna go easy on me, huh?” Jirou asks.

“Why should I?”

“Well, you know me. Hell, you invited me over to your house for dinner,” Jirou reminds him.

“I’m aware. Tell me why exactly that would mean I should be lenient towards you,” Sasuke responds.

Jirou struggles to come up with a response. Meanwhile, Sasuke feels a presence approaching from behind and turns slightly. Wakiya is charging towards him, shuriken raised.

He blocks each one with ease.

“Hey, Wakiya! Watch where you’re aiming!” Jirou shouts angrily when one of her shuriken narrowly misses him.

“Sorry Jiro-kun, but I have to get one of those bells no matter what!” she responds.

“He’s your teammate,” Sasuke tells her. “You should be more careful.”

She scowls.

“I don’t have time to waste with teammates like him! He’ll only slow me down in a real fight,” she exclaims.

“Hey!” Jirou shouts back indignantly.

Sasuke disappears again and reappears right behind her, his sword drawn to her throat.

“You’re even worse than Ziroshi,” he mutters. “I’m starting to admire Kakashi a little.”

He hears a snort of laughter and glances towards the sound. Kakashi is sitting on a tree branch, watching the debacle that is Sasuke trying to test genin. Sasuke doesn’t have time to say anything more though, because Ziroshi seems to have recovered her senses and is coming towards him as well.

However, she freezes when she sees her friend trapped under Sasuke’s glinting blade.

“Ziroshi. If you don’t incapacitate Jirou right now, I’ll knock out Wakiya,” Sasuke threatens.

“What?” all three genin exclaim.

Sasuke hears another snort from the tree.

Ziroshi’s eyes widen and she glances between Jirou, Wakiya, and back to Jirou.

“Ziro-chan! Don’t worry about me!” Wakiya exclaims. “I’ll catch up to you guys. You and Jiro-chan should just take the bells!”

Ziroshi grows panicked and raises a kunai. Then she lowers it and casts her eyes down.

“I… I’m so sorry, sensei. He’s my comrade,” Ziroshi claims. “I can’t, not when he hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Fine. Then, Jirou. Incapacitate Ziroshi.”

“Are you insane?! No way! She’s… They’re both my friends. I can’t turn on them.”

Sasuke smirks and slowly lowers the blade. Wakiya jumps away quickly, and stands with the other two.

“Well done,” he says. “You all know that in the shinobi world, those who break the rules are scum. However, a man once said that those who abandon their comrades are even worse than scum.”

The genin’s eyes widen again, this time in surprise.

Jirou is the first one to celebrate, pumping his fist in the air and yelling, “Alright!”

Wakiya and Ziroshi high-five.

“Starting right now, you are Team Uchiha. Our first mission will begin tomorrow. Be at hokage tower by eleven to receive our assignment.”

Sasuke walks away and meets up with Kakashi as he leaves the training ground.

“Not bad,” Kakashi comments. “I got a little scared when you said you’d kill Wakiya, but it worked out.”

“Yes, it did,” Sasuke responds.

“Why did you use my test?” Kakashi asks.

“Partially because I didn’t think they’d pass, and partially because I hoped they would,” Sasuke admits.

Kakashi smiles behind his mask.

“Well, see you around. Good luck with your genin,” Kakashi tells him when they reach the point where they should split up.

“Yeah,” Sasuke responds.

They each head their separate ways. Sasuke goes home and starts to make dinner. Naruto comes home just as he finishes up.

“So, how did it go?” Naruto asks.

“Weren’t you watching with a clone?” Sasuke retorts.

“Yeah, but I wanted to hear it from you,” Naruto claims, hugging him from behind while Sasuke pours the stew he made over two bowls of rice.

“Hn. Ziroshi and Wakiya are going to be difficult to handle. They both want vengeance.”

“Yep,” Naruto responds. “So, do you like them?”

Sasuke doesn’t answer. Naruto releases him with a knowing smile and takes the bowl Sasuke offers him. They go to the table and start to eat.

“Well?” Naruto asks.

“Well what?”

“Well, do you like them or not?”

“Idiot. They’re annoying,” Sasuke responds, “but yes, I do.”

Naruto grins.

~+~+~+~+~

It doesn’t take long for his genin to really start to annoy Sasuke.

On their second mission, they are sent to find a stray cat. Jirou manages to grab it, but gets his face scratched up for the effort. Next, the girls try throwing a net over it, which the cat just scratches to pieces. Sasuke gives them three hours, staying comfortably far back, until they come up with the bright idea of chasing it to him.

He glares at it but it just hisses and spits as it keeps running at him, the kids chasing after it. Sasuke grits his teeth and picks it up by the scruff. It tries to claw at him but his grip only tightens and the cat can’t turn around in the air. His genin run up to him, panting.

“Sorry, sensei, it just kept getting away,” Wakiya tells him.

Sasuke sighs.

“Next time, don’t let a dumb cat get the best of you,” he informs them.

He hands the cat to Jirou, who makes sure to take it by the scruff. They give the cat back to its owner and return to the tower to give their report.

“Hokage-sama, may I speak with you?” Sasuke requests politely, although there is a dangerous edge to his tone that makes Naruto gulp and visibly pale.

“Of course,” Naruto responds. “Jirou, Wakiya, Ziroshi, you three are dismissed. Good job.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama,” they tell him before they all but run away.

Sasuke stalks up to his desk.

“They can’t handle a cat, how are they supposed to face actual opponents?” Sasuke hisses.

“They won’t, for a while,” Naruto says. “And when they do, you’ll be there, like Kakashi-sensei was for us.”

“Tch.”

Naruto smiles.

“Sasuke, I’ll see you tonight. I still have a lot of work to do today,” he says.

“Hn.”

Sasuke turns and walks out of the office. He passes his genin in the hall and spares them a glance, but keeps walking. Wakiya runs after him.

“Sasuke-sensei! We’re still kids… Please teach us more jutsu!” she requests.

Sasuke stops and turns to her.

“What do you want to learn?”

“Well… How did you get so strong?”

Sasuke snorts and turns away again.

“First off, I need to ask you something. Who took your family from you?” he asks.

Wakiya startles.

“The… the man who ran the trafficking branch,” she answers.

“Is it the same for Ziroshi?”

“Yes,” Ziroshi responds.

“I killed him. Jirou saw me.”

The girls look at Jirou and he nods.

“You did? Then… Our vengeance is already…”

“Yes. So why do you want to become strong now?” Sasuke asks.

When they don’t answer immediately, he speaks again.

“Find me when you figure it out. Until then, I’ll only see you for missions.”

With that, he leaves.

~+~+~+~+~

Sasuke doesn’t hear from his students that afternoon. He goes home and finds one of Naruto’s clones preparing dinner. Sasuke smirks.

“Dobe. Let me help you with that,” he says suggestively, taking the knife out of the clone’s hands and setting it down on the counter.

“Sasuke, what are you doing?” Naruto asks, unimpressed.

“Have you started actually cooking anything yet?” Sasuke inquires.

“No. I’ve just started cutting the vegetables, you know,” Naruto's clone responds.

“Good. Let’s have some fun, then.”

“Bastard… You know this is going to turn me on when the memories come to me, don’t you? That’s why you’re doing this,” the clone accuses.

Sasuke hums in acknowledgement, his mouth already skimming along the clone’s neck. Naruto rolls his head back and leans against the counter. Sasuke unzips Naruto’s shirt and then starts to grope his crotch. Naruto gasps.

“Sadistic bastard,” the clone calls him.

Sasuke hums again before he sinks to his knees fluidly. Naruto looks down at him, blushing.

“Usuratonkachi,” Sasuke says.

~+~+~+~+~

By the time the clone gets dissipated, Sasuke has given it a blowjob and received a handjob in return.

Naruto jolts upright in his desk as the memories flood his mind. Damn it, he thinks. Sasuke was smirking at him arrogantly before he stabbed the clone’s gut with the kitchen knife. Naruto stands up and wraps his cloak around his shoulders. He creates a clone to keep working for him and heads home.

By the time Naruto marches through the front door, Sasuke has picked up where the clone left off with dinner and is busy making stir-fry.

“Naruto. Is something wrong?” Sasuke asks innocently, not looking at him.

Naruto glares at him.

“You tell me,” he responds.

Sasuke glances him over, smirking at the sharp tent in Naruto’s pants.

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke says. “I just thought I'd have a little harmless fun.”

“Harmless my ass,” Naruto grumbles. “I’m going to go take care of this in our bedroom.”

“Why not here, where I can see you?” Sasuke asks.

Naruto scowls and throws a dish towel at him which Sasuke catches easily, smirking.

Naruto stomps upstairs, yelling, “Call me for dinner!”

Sasuke rolls his eyes and keeps cooking.

Ten minutes later, dinner is ready. He shouts Naruto’s name and his boyfriend comes wandering downstairs soon. They sit in the living room tonight and turn on the TV. Sasuke ends up flipping to a show he’s been interested in, but Naruto takes the remote and finds his show.

“Tch.”

“Your shows are depressing, and I want to watch something decent,” Naruto claims.

“Whatever, dobe.”

Sasuke leans into him and Naruto wraps his arm around his shoulders as the show’s intro starts. This is a drama show loosely based off Tales of a Gutsy Ninja. It’s named after the book. After they finish eating, Sasuke takes their dishes to the kitchen and washes them. They go to bed after the episode ends.

In the morning, Sasuke is woken up by someone pounding on his door. He looks over at Naruto, still fast asleep.

“Oi. Dobe,” Sasuke calls.

Naruto grunts in his sleep, turning towards Sasuke.

“Wake up, usuratonkachi.”

“Hm,” Naruto hums.

Sasuke prods him in the forehead and Naruto winces, slowly opening his eyes.

“Go get the door,” Sasuke demands.

“Huh?”

“Somebody’s at the door, go get it,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto gets out of bed, complaining. He gets dressed and leaves.

“What?” he asks when it swings open.

Two of Sasuke’s genin are standing in front of him, looking fierce.

“We came to see Sasuke-sensei,” Wakiya states.

Naruto grimaces.

“He’s not exactly a morning person,” he warns.

“That’s fine,” Ziroshi responds.

“He told us to come find him as soon we figured out something,” Wakiya adds.

Naruto lets them inside with a sigh. They take off their shoes and Naruto asks them to wait in the living room. He goes back upstairs and gently shakes Sasuke’s shoulder.

“Hey, bastard, your genin are here,” Naruto says.

“Tell them to go away,” Sasuke grumbles.

“Come on, asshole, just get up and get dressed,” Naruto tells him.

“How about you tell them to go home and fuck me when you get back,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto scowls and pulls the covers off. Sasuke curls up into the fetal position and Naruto rolls his eyes.

“Get the fuck up.”

Sasuke grunts, unmoving. Naruto drops the blankets on the floor and crosses the room. He puts together Sasuke’s usual outfit and tosses it at his boyfriend.

“If you’re not dressed and downstairs in five minutes, I won’t let you top for a month,” Naruto threatens.

Sasuke glares at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Fine. I’ll be there soon,” Sasuke replies, grabbing the clothes and sitting up.

Naruto smirks and leaves the room. He goes back downstairs and sits down with Wakiya and Ziroshi to wait for Sasuke. Sasuke comes down in a few minutes, his hair still messy and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

“We know why we want to be shinobi now,” Wakiya tells him.

“Great. First, tell me why you’re here so early,” Sasuke responds flatly.

“It’s just six thirty,” Ziroshi claims.

“Exactly.”

Wakiya sighs.

“You told us to come find you when we knew, so we did it first thing,” she says.

Sasuke looks at them for a minute.

“And?”

They glance at each other, then back at him.

“We want to become strong so that we can fight for Konoha and ourselves.”

“That’s good. You’ve got the will of fire,” Naruto tells them with a proud smile.

“Shut up, usuratonkachi,” Sasuke grumbles.

Naruto scowls and stands up from his seat on one of their armchairs. He crosses the room and stops in the archway to the kitchen, looking back at Sasuke. 

“Hey bastard, do you want some coffee?” Naruto asks.

“Yeah.”

“Alright,” Naruto replies.

He goes into the kitchen. Sasuke looks back at his students, who stare back at him.

“What?” he snaps.

“Do you live with the hokage?” Ziroshi asks.

“Yes. I thought you knew.”

“Well we heard that you two are… together, but we didn’t think…” Ziroshi says.

“Why don’t you live in the tower?” Wakiya inquires.

Sasuke shrugs.

“Because granny Tsunade still lives there!” Naruto tells her from the kitchen.

“Oh.”

“Why don’t you tell her to move out? Aren’t you the current hokage?” Ziroshi questions.

“Have you met granny Tsunade?” Naruto asks her.

“No.”

Sasuke shudders slightly, remembering the first time he officially met her. He imagines her reaction if Naruto were to dare to ask her to move out for him and Sasuke. The imagery makes him smirk.

“What is it?” Wakiya asks him.

Sasuke shakes his head.

“It wouldn’t go well if we asked that of her,” he states simply.

Naruto returns to the living room with two mugs of coffee and a serious expression.

“No,” he agrees.

He hands Sasuke the black mug and starts drinking out of his own bright orange one. Sasuke takes a sip from his mug.

“I still don’t get how you can stand it without cream or sugar,” Naruto mutters.

“Hn.”

“Sensei?” Wakiya speaks up.

“Yes?”

Naruto snickers. Sasuke glares at him.

“Sorry, it’s just… It’s weird to hear you being called sensei,” Naruto tells him.

“You’re welcome to take my place,” Sasuke responds.

“We’ve already talked about this,” Naruto says.

Sasuke rolls his eyes at his boyfriend and looks back at his students.

“Sensei, we want to ask you if you’ll teach us ninjutsu now,” Ziroshi continues.

“Alright. Go find Jirou and the three of you are to meet me at eleven in Naruto’s office for our mission. When we return, I’ll start training you,” Sasuke replies.

Wakiya and Ziroshi look at each other, excited. They stand and bow to Sasuke.

“Thank you, sensei,” Ziroshi tell him.

“We won’t disappoint you,” Wakiya promises.

Then they leave. Naruto claps a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder and grins.

“Treat them well, Sasuke.”

“Tch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like these ocs and I hope you guys appreciate them too. You'll be seeing more of them.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I honestly love these kids so much

When team Uchiha returns from their dog-walking mission, Sasuke takes them to one of the training grounds and sets up targets.

“Throw a shuriken at these,” he tells them. “Once you each get a bulls-eye, let me know.”

He sits down on the ground and opens a book he found at the orphanage library the other day. Twenty minutes later, his students surround him in a semi-circle and look at him expectantly.

“Sensei,” Wakiya says.

He closes the book and stands. He examines their targets and nods once when he finds them acceptable.

“Now I want you to try hitting those,” he says, pointing at targets set at an angle. “You’ll have to learn how to make a shuriken hit a target from the side.”

“That means we need to curve its flight path,” Ziroshi realizes.

“Yes.”

“That’s impossible!” Jirou exclaims.

Sasuke looks at him for a second. Then he takes a shuriken and throws it. It arcs gracefully and embeds itself in the center of the target. He retrieves it and turns back to his students.

“No, it’s not,” he responds simply.

Jirou scowls and readies another shuriken. So do Ziroshi and Wakiya, so Sasuke gets out of the way again. Once they master that, he teaches them how to hit a shuriken with another to make it change its path completely.

“Sasuke-sensei, how did you learn how to do this?” Jirou asks eventually. “Did Kakashi-san teach you?”

“No. I taught myself,” Sasuke replies.

“Wow,” Wakiya says.

“Hn.”

Ziroshi is the first to master this. Wakiya is next and Jirou manages soon after her.

“Well done,” Sasuke tells them. “Now we’ll begin for real. I want you to climb a tree. Without using your hands.”

“What?” they ask in unison.

Sasuke starts to walk up the side of a tree.

“Like this. Mold your chakra into your feet,” he tells them.

He stops when he is standing on the bottom of one of the branches. The weather has gotten a little too warm for him to wear his cloak, so he’s been leaving it at home lately.

“Alright,” Jirou says. “I’ve got this!”

He runs towards a different tree trunk and gets about two steps up when he slips and falls back down. Ziroshi snickers at him while Wakiya asks if he’s alright. Sasuke jumps down.

“Each time you climb, mark it with a kunai,” he tells them.

They each take out a knife and start.

Wakiya masters it by sunset. Ziroshi and Jirou are struggling.

“Let’s stop for today,” Sasuke suggests as the last rays of sunlight disappear. “I’ll take the three of you to dinner.”

“Aren’t you gonna eat with Naruto-san?” Wakiya asks him.

“Not tonight.”

He received a text from his boyfriend earlier, telling him to have fun with the genin and saying that Naruto is going out to eat with Sakura and Shikamaru tonight.

Team Uchiha walks through Konoha and find a restaurant. They go inside and Sasuke treats his students to barbeque. Choji and Ino come in halfway through their meal and approach them.

“Yo, Sasuke,” Choji greets.

“Hello Choji, Ino,” Sasuke responds politely.

“These must be your genin,” Ino says, putting her hands on her hips and looking at the three children with a smile.

“Hello,” Wakiya greets, beaming.

“Hi,” Ino replies, her own smile widening. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Wakiya. This is Ziroshi, and that’s Jirou.”

“Hm. Be nice to Sasuke-kun, alright?” she tells them.

“Sasuke-kun?” Jirou echoes.

Ino laughs.

“We were in the academy together. Say, Sasuke, is Naruto ditching you for a date with my girlfriend and Shikamaru?” Ino asks.

Sasuke sighs but doesn’t deny it.

“Well, it was nice to see you,” Choji says.

“Yeah,” Sasuke replies.

“It was great to meet the three of you,” Ino tells Sasuke’s students.

“You too,” Ziroshi tells her.

“Bye,” Ino replies, waving.

Wakiya waves back.

“She’s quite pretty,” Ziroshi comments.

“Yeah, I guess,” Sasuke replies.

“Who’s her girlfriend?” Jirou asks.

“Sakura Haruno.”

“Oh,” Jirou says. “The one in charge of the hospital?”

“Yes. Ino is a medical ninja too,” Sasuke tells them.

They nod understandingly and continue eating.

~+~+~+~+~

Sasuke’s students have all mastered tree-climbing within three days. Next, he teaches them to walk on top of water. After they’ve mastered that as well, he decides to start teaching each of them actual ninjutsu.

“Do any of you know if you inherited some type of kekkei genkai?” Sasuke asks them.

“What’s that?” Wakiya responds.

“Kekkei genkai is a type of ninjutsu that is passed down through a clan or family. Mine is the sharingan,” Sasuke tells her. “The Yamanaka clan use a secret jutsu that allows them to control their opponent’s mind.”

“I don’t have anything like that,” Ziroshi says.

“Neither do I,” Jirou adds.

“Well… There is my clan’s Keika,” Wakiya comments.

“What’s that?” Sasuke asks.

“It’s a type of genjutsu… We would just need a candle,” Wakiya says.

“Did your family teach it to you?” Sasuke questions.

“My big brother did,” she responds.

“Good. Try it on me,” Sasuke tells her.

“But sensei, it’s--!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be affected,” he promises.

She nods and takes out one of the candles shinobi carry as a standard tool. She lights it and holds it up. Sasuke sees the world shift and grow distorted. The flame multiplies. He looks around, alert but calm. The flames have turned into fireflies, scattered around him. There is nothing he sees yet that is frightening or threatening.

Until he sees Naruto, lying on the ground, hurt and dying. He has chakra-sealing chains on his hands and ankles. There is a bleeding hole straight through his heart and Sasuke starts to feel sick when Naruto looks up at him with pain and betrayal in his eyes.

“Sasuke… Bastard, how could you? I trusted you,” Naruto says through gritted teeth. “I took you home. I slept with you. Hell, I promoted you! So why--?”

Sasuke breaks the genjutsu before his lover continues. He stares at Wakiya.

“What the hell was that?” he asks.

“Sorry, sensei, I tried to warn you. It’s a genjutsu that shows you your worst fear,” she answers, looking apologetic.

Sasuke looks away from her, waiting for the panic to subside. He knew it was just a genjutsu, but it looked real. That was worse than what Itachi showed him on the night of their parents’ death.

“Sasuke-sensei, what did you see?” Jirou asks.

“Nothing,” Sasuke retorts shortly. “Today’s lesson is over. Wakiya, carry candles with you on every mission, but only use that genjutsu in dire circumstances.”

“Sasuke-sensei, please forgive me,” Wakiya begs, bowing low.

He looks at her.

“I’m not angry. I knew it was a genjutsu.”

“Then, why do you look like you just saw a ghost?” Ziroshi asks him.

Sasuke doesn’t give them an answer. Instead, he asks Wakiya another question.

“Were you in control of that enough to see what I did?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I see.”

He doesn’t leave yet. She looks up at him again.

“Sensei?”

“Hn.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. There’s nothing you did wrong. I’m going to go find Naruto,” Sasuke tells her.

She nods understandingly and Sasuke takes off. He heads to Naruto’s office and enters through the window. Naruto looks up when he comes in.

“Sasuke,” he greets. “Is something wrong?”

“One of my genin has a genjutsu ability,” Sasuke reports. “It’s quite powerful.”

Naruto’s eyes widen and he turns away from his paperwork for a moment.

“Did you let her use it on you?”

“Yes. I could see through it, but… It was…”

“I understand. What does it show the victim?” Naruto asks.

“Their worst fear,” Sasuke answers.

“Oh. Sasuke, are you alright? What did you see?” Naruto asks gently.

“It’s not important. I just thought I should tell you. Wakiya calls it Keika.”

“‘Firefly light’, huh?” Naruto murmurs thoughtfully. “Sounds interesting.”

He takes Sasuke’s hand and looks him in the eyes.

“I’m alright. If it showed you something about me. Anyway, what does she need for it?”

“A candle. That’s all,” Sasuke responds.

“Wow,” Naruto says. “Did you give her any restrictions regarding it?”

“I told her not to use it except in dire situations,” Sasuke answers.

Naruto nods.

“That sounds alright. Well, thanks for the report. I’ll see you later, Sasuke,” he says.

“Yeah.”

They kiss briefly and Sasuke leaves again. He goes home and showers, trying to get the image out of his mind. Then he sits down in the living room and starts reading, waiting for Naruto to come home.

~+~+~+~+~

Sasuke’s genin progress quickly. Sasuke eventually asks the three of them to fight him together.

“Wakiya, you are allowed to use keika if you want to, but if you do, I will use my sharingan,” Sasuke tells her.

She nods once, eyes narrowed fiercely.

“Jirou, the sexy jutsu that I know you asked Konohamaru to teach you won’t work on me.”

“We’ll see about that,” Jirou replies, smirking.

Sasuke narrows his eyes but moves on.

“Ziroshi, remember what I’ve taught you.”

“Yes, sensei,” she responds.

“Alright. Show me what you’ve learned,” Sasuke tells the three of them, unsheathing his katana.

His students rush at him simultaneously. He dodges their initial attacks and blocks the kunai Wakiya and Jirou throw at him. Ziroshi flies at him with a crackling chidori and he disappears, landing behind her. He grabs her wrist from behind and stops her chidori. She turns slightly and looks at him with wide eyes. Sasuke slices through Jirou’s three clones with ease and lets Ziroshi go. He disappears again before they get a chance to attack again, forcing the three of them to run into each other where he just was. He reappears a few feet away, smirking.

“Damn it!” Jirou exclaims. “This’ll do it.”

He forms a transformation handsign and turns into… Naruto. Except, this is Naruto in nothing except a thong. Scandalized but also slightly turned on, Sasuke feels the burn of his sharingan and Jirou changes back as he falls unconscious.

“Sensei, that was unfair! You knocked him out!” Wakiya exclaims.

“He shouldn’t have used a jutsu like that,” Sasuke retorts, successfully deflecting Ziroshi’s next attack.

“Is that really what hokage-sama looks like?” Ziroshi asks.

Sasuke refuses to answer that. So instead, he retaliates by tripping her. Wakiya lights a candle and Sasuke finds himself inside her genjutsu again.

Naruto appears in front of him, hanging off Sasuke’s arm with blood coming out of his mouth and Sasuke’s fist in his chest, the electricity of chidori still hanging in the air. This is a little bit different, but still similar to that first time. He grits his teeth and forces the genjutsu to stop, but when he returns to reality he realizes that he did so a little too late. All three of his students catch him off guard enough that they destroy his shadow clone, Jirou apparently now awake.

Sasuke jumps down from the branch he was watching from and nods.

“Well done,” he tells them. “That concludes today’s training.”

“Sensei!” Wakiya exclaims.

“When did you…? Back then,” Jirou mutters, looking between where the shadow clone was and Sasuke.

“When Ziroshi first attacked me with her chidori,” Sasuke answers.

“Wow,” Ziroshi murmurs.

Sasuke sheathes his katana and starts to walk back to the village. His genin catch up to him.

“Sasuke-sensei, can we sign up for the chunin exams?” Wakiya asks him.

Sasuke glances at her.

“We want to become chunin and start taking bigger missions for the village!” Jirou exclaims, pumping his fist.

“Yeah!” Ziroshi agrees.

“Naruto and I were both genin until we were 17,” Sasuke tells them.

“What?” Jirou asks.

“The first time we took the exam, Orochimaru infiltrated the village halfway through. Naruto left the village to train with Jiraiya for two years before the next one. I left and became a missing-nin before that.”

“So you really used to be a missing-nin?” Ziroshi questions.

“Yes.”

“How come they let you come back?” Wakiya asks.

“Naruto.”

“Lord Seventh? What did he do?” Ziroshi inquires.

Sasuke smiles slightly, looking up at the sky. Naruto did everything, didn’t he?

“He brought me back and pleaded for the council to spare my life. Then he convinced the hokage at that time to let me become a shinobi for Konoha again. He also gave me a place to call home once more.”

His students remain silent for a moment.

“You really love him, don’t you?” Wakiya asks softly.

Sasuke looks forward again.

“Yes, I do,” he admits.

They reach the edge of the village and Sasuke walks the kids back to the orphanage.

“Sasuke-sensei, can you show us where you grew up?” Ziroshi requests when they reach the arch.

“Sure. Come with me,” he replies, leading them into the orphanage.

They exchange glances and follow him.

He leads them through and stops outside his old house.

“This one,” he tells them.

“Wait, you grew up in the orphanage?” Wakiya asks him.

“It wasn’t an orphanage until about a year and a half ago,” Sasuke claims.

“Really? Then, who else lived here?” Ziroshi questions.

“It was the Uchiha clan’s compound for a long time, until my older brother killed them all for the sake of Konoha. They were planning a coup. He was supposed to kill me, too, but he… couldn’t.”

“Wow. How old were you?” Ziroshi asks.

“I was seven,” Sasuke tells them.

“Wait, then who took care of you?” Jirou asks.

Sasuke looks at him.

“Nobody. Like Naruto, I had to take care of myself,” Sasuke answers. “That’s why he and I decided to build this place. So children without parents like ourselves wouldn’t have to suffer.”

His students stare at him again, speechless for a moment.

“What happened to Hokage-sama’s parents?” Wakiya inquires.

Sasuke sighs.

“I don’t have time to tell you the entire history of Konoha, especially not here,” Sasuke replies.

“Then, let’s go somewhere else,” Wakiya suggests.

“Yeah,” Ziroshi agrees.

“...Alright,” Sasuke gives in.

He turns and starts walking again. They follow him to the dock where he learned the fireball technique.

“Here,” he says, sitting on the edge.

His students sit beside him, all of them looking out over the water.

“Naruto has a tailed beast called Kurama inside of him,” Sasuke explains. “However, there was a time when Kurama ran amok.”

“What does this have to do with Naruto-san’s story?” Jirou asks.

“Shut up and you’ll find out,” Sasuke retorts. “The kyuubi attacked Konoha many years ago. The Fourth was our hokage at the time. Minato Namikaze was Naruto’s father.”

“Woah, Naruto is a son of the fourth?” Wakiya asks in awe.

“Yes. During the kyuubi’s attack, Naruto’s parents sealed its chakra inside their only son, giving up their lives in the process,” Sasuke finishes.

“Wow,” Ziroshi says. “That’s impressive. They must have really loved their village.”

“Of course they did, it was the Fourth and his wife!” Jirou retorts.

“I know that, but still!” Ziroshi replies.

While they bicker, Sasuke leans back and looks at the lake. The sky is reflected in it. He is reminded of the other times he has spent here. As a child, and as an adult. His favorite by far was coming here to watch the fireworks with Naruto that New Year’s Eve. He snaps out of it when he hears someone call his name.

Sasuke turns around and sees Naruto walking down the dock towards them, smiling.

“Dobe. Shouldn’t you be working?” Sasuke asks.

Naruto shrugs.

“I left a shadow clone. No one knows yet,” he replies.

Sasuke rolls his eyes and Naruto takes a seat beside him. The dock is barely wide enough for all five of them. The genin have stopped arguing and are watching their hokage and teacher.

Naruto takes Sasuke’s hand and they intertwine their fingers. Naruto looks at Sasuke’s students.

“What were you guys talking about?” he asks them.

“You,” Jirou responds.

Naruto looks at Sasuke, surprised.

“What about me?”

“Your parents,” Wakiya responds.

Naruto chuckles and looks out over the water with Sasuke.

“Minato and Kushina were great people,” he claims.

“I thought they died when you were a baby,” Ziroshi says.

“Yeah, that’s right. I met their chakra echoes when I was a teenager though,” Naruto tells them. “Both of them had their chakra sealed inside me with Kurama so that I could meet them later, when the kyuubi was about to take over my body.”

He can hear the demon fox’s echoing laughter inside him and smiles slightly.

They spend a long time sharing stories. Sasuke and Naruto learn more about Sasuke’s genin and their lives, while the genin learn about their hokage and their teacher. Only when the sun starts to set does Naruto decide he and Sasuke should go home. They say goodbye to the genin and walk together to their house.

Naruto makes a shadow clone and tells him to go into the kitchen and start making dinner. Once it nods and leaves, Naruto pulls Sasuke close and kisses him gently.

“Mm, we haven’t had any fun in a few days,” Naruto murmurs.

“Hn. You’re right,” Sasuke replies, eyes sliding shut as his lips move with Naruto’s.

Naruto steps a little closer to the door, pulling Sasuke with him, and locks it. Sasuke pins him against the hallway wall, fingers roaming. Naruto pushes him back until Sasuke is the one with his back against the wall, nearly knocking a picture frame of team 7 off in the process. Naruto’s fingers push back Sasuke’s bangs and Sasuke opens his eyes to find Naruto watching him through half-lidded eyes. He gets rewarded with a lazy smile and then Naruto’s eyes are closed again and his lips are pressed to Sasuke’s.

They can feel each other’s erections through their pants and Naruto helps Sasuke out of his vest. Sasuke returns the favor by unzipping Naruto’s shirt and pushing it off his shoulders. They let it fall to the floor and Sasuke breaks away, taking Naruto’s hand and pulling him to the living room. He pushes Naruto back against the back of the couch until they fall over it together, Sasuke landing underneath his boyfriend.

Naruto looks down at him for a second, eyes glazed over by lust.

“I love you, Sasuke Uchiha,” Naruto murmurs.

“Shut up and kiss me, dobe,” Sasuke retorts, pulling him back down.

It doesn’t take long before both of them are naked.

“Sasuke, I’ll just go get the lube,” Naruto suggests.

“No,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto pauses and looks at him, confused.

“I’m not letting you fuck me dry, and I don’t want to hurt you,” he says.

Sasuke rolls his eyes and brings Naruto’s hand up to his mouth.

“Like this,” he says, right before taking two of Naruto’s fingers into his mouth and starting to suck on them.

“Oh fuck,” Naruto mutters, eyes widening slightly. “O-okay.”

Sasuke makes a pleased-sounding hum at Naruto’s agreement and closes his eyes. Naruto swallows and watches him. After a moment, Sasuke lets his hand go and Naruto reaches down between them. He stations himself between Sasuke’s thighs on the couch and starts fingering him. Sasuke watches him.

Eventually, they deem it safe enough for Naruto to enter him properly. Naruto slides in slowly, both of them wincing slightly.

“Is this okay?” Naruto asks breathlessly.

“Yeah, just… wait a second,” Sasuke responds.

“Yeah,” Naruto says.

Sasuke takes a deep breath and nods once. Naruto pulls out part-way and slides back in. He repeats the process a few times before he starts to pick up the pace. Sasuke wraps his legs around Naruto’s waist and Naruto lifts his lower back off the couch. Sasuke moans loudly as Naruto hits his prostate.

“Ah, fuck!” Naruto gasps, hips snapping.

After a few minutes, Sasuke finishes first and Naruto follows a little while afterwards. Naruto pulls out carefully and collapses on top of Sasuke, both of them breathing hard.

“Hey, dobe, get off me,” Sasuke tells him.

Naruto hums.

“I’m serious, you’re heavy!” Sasuke says.

“Sorry,” Naruto replies, rolling off a little.

“Idiot, you’re still lying on me,” Sasuke tells him.

“If I roll any more I’ll fall!”

Sasuke clicks his tongue but stops trying to convince him. Instead he gets up and heads to the bathroom, leaving Naruto panting on the couch. When Sasuke returns, he throws a wad of clothes at Naruto, who catches them.

“Half of these aren’t mine,” he notices.

“So what? Put some clothes on,” Sasuke retorts, already wearing pants and in the process of putting on Naruto’s shirt.

Naruto has never really seen Sasuke wearing his clothes before. Usually he makes sure to wear his own. Sometimes he’ll put on Naruto’s boxers or shoes. Naruto once convinced him to try on the hokage cloak, and that was almost too much for him.

This is definitely too much.

Sasuke glances at him and does a double take, pausing with the zipper halfway up.

“What is it?” he asks.

“Uh…”

Sasuke narrows his eyes.

“It’s… nothing. I just… You look good in my clothes,” Naruto says.

Sasuke looks down at himself.

“Don’t expect me to go around in them.”

“No, I wouldn’t. I just like it,” Naruto replies.

He grins and Sasuke falls in love with him all over again.

“Dobe. Get dressed,” Sasuke tells him with a huff, pulling his hair back with a ribbon.

Naruto chuckles and follows his orders. Afterwards, they go to the dining room and Naruto sets the table. The clone disperses and Sasuke dishes up their meals.

“Sasuke, I love you!” Naruto exclaims.

“Hn. I love you too,” Sasuke replies. “Is something wrong?”

“No. I just wanted to say it again,” Naruto tells him, grinning.

Sasuke smiles slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....I'm busy


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto helps Sasuke teach *the babies* and one of his old teachers pays a visit to Konoha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I'm on time for once!

They go to bed in each other’s arms as usual, but in the morning, Naruto is the first one to wake. It happens occasionally, but he usually stays in bed and waits for Sasuke to wake up as well. This morning, he doesn’t wait.

Sasuke feels something hot and wet around his dick and groans. It feels good. He cracks his eyes open to the morning light and sees something under the covers. Naruto is missing from the space beside him, so he realizes that the bobbing mound is his boyfriend. He lets his hand grab ahold of Naruto’s hair, not hard enough to hurt, and is rewarded with a hum.

After Sasuke cums, Naruto crawls out from under the blankets and looks at Sasuke with a lazy smile.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Naruto says softly, voice slightly hoarse.

“Are you off today?” Sasuke asks him.

“Yes,” Naruto responds.

“Good.”

“Why’s that?”

“It means I get to have you all day,” Sasuke answers, looking him in the eye.

Naruto blushes and Sasuke smirks.

~+~+~+~+~

By the time they actually manage to get up and get dressed, both of them are thoroughly satisfied. Naruto makes them coffee and after they eat breakfast, they leave the house together, heading towards the orphanage.

They find Sasuke’s team and the five of them head to the training grounds.

“Wakiya, Naruto is going to teach you a technique today,” Sasuke states.

Naruto nods.

Wakiya’s eyes fill with excitement and Naruto grins.

“It’s called Rasengan,” he states, extending his hand and forming a spiraling ball of chakra.

Wakiya’s eyes widen.

“That’s so cool,” she says.

Naruto’s grin widens.

“If you want to master it, we’ll start with water balloons.”

“Yes, sir!”

While Naruto starts teaching Wakiya Rasengan, Sasuke works with Jirou and Ziroshi.

At the end of the day, Naruto and Sasuke deem them prepared for the chunin exams and hand the students applications.

“Bring those to my clone in the office when you fill them out,” Naruto tells them.

“You leave clones in charge of Konoha?” Ziroshi asks him.

“Of course not! I just leave them doing paperwork sometimes,” Naruto answers.

“What happens when they disperse before you get to talk to them?” Wakiya asks.

“Shadow clones send their memories back to the original when they disperse,” Jirou responds.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Naruto says.

“I suppose that if someone tried to break in and kill you only to find that it was a clone, that would be better than if the real you was there,” Ziroshi comments.

“The same goes for if you got kidnapped,” Wakiya says. “They might take the clone and then you would know where their hideout is and have time to track them down before they kept moving.”

“Or I could find him,” Sasuke tells them. “That is, if they took the real one.”

Naruto grins at him.

“What if he’s too far away?” Jirou asks.

“That won’t make a difference,” Sasuke claims.

The genin look at them.

“You two really are perfect for each other,” Wakiya claims.

Sasuke scoffs and rolls his eyes, but Naruto just grins and takes his hand.

“Keep working hard!” Naruto tells the kids.

“Yes sir!” they reply, bowing.

Naruto looks at Sasuke.

“Let’s eat at Ichiraku tonight!” Naruto suggests.

“Dobe. Why?”

“I want to! Come on, bastard.”

Sasuke gives a long-suffering sigh, but he doesn’t stop his boyfriend from pulling him back to town and taking him to Naruto’s favorite ramen stand. Teuchi and Ayame greet them warmly and take their orders. While they eat, Naruto talks with them.

“So, preparations for the chunin exams are going well?” Ayame asks.

“Mhm! It’s mostly thanks to Shikamaru though,” Naruto tells her.

“To think that there is finally going to be a chunin exam sponsored by all five ninja villages!” Teuchi exclaims.

Naruto chuckles.

“I remember when you were just a kid,” Ayame comments. “Back then I never thought you would become Hokage.”

“No one did,” Sasuke says offhandedly.

“Yeah,” Naruto agrees, smiling. “Looks like I changed everyone’s mind though, huh?”

“Usuratonkachi,” Sasuke mutters before finishing off his bowl of ramen.

Naruto laughs and follows his example. They pay and leave the shop together. Then they walk home hand-in-hand.

~+~+~+~+~

“Sasuke, bastard, where’s my cloak?!” Naruto calls from downstairs.

Sasuke grunts and sits up. He grabs the white and red cloak from the hook on the closet door and brings it downstairs.

“What was the point of telling me to go back to sleep if you’re just going to yell some more?” Sasuke asks moodily.

Naruto gives him a kiss and then grins.

“Sorry, babe. Hey, have you seen my left shoe either?”

Sasuke sighs and points to it. Naruto sits down and puts it on after thanking Sasuke.

“And, um…”

“Here,” Sasuke tells him, handing over Naruto’s wallet.

“Thanks. You’re really a lifesaver,” Naruto says.

Sasuke scoffs.

“Go to work,” he retorts.

Naruto chuckles and stands back up. He kisses Sasuke briefly one more time before he leaves. Sasuke smiles softly once the door closes and heads back upstairs to get dressed.

The chunin exams start tomorrow. Naruto has gotten busier and busier lately. He has appeared on television, done newspaper interviews, and organized meetings and calls with the other four kage.

Meanwhile, Sasuke has been preparing his team and the town has started buzzing. Foreign dignitaries and feudal lords have come to Konoha lately for the exams, and Sasuke is interested in seeing how well his students do.

Of course, some people still object to Sasuke Uchiha’s continued existence, but they get quickly hushed whenever Naruto is around. Word has spread that Sasuke is something important to the Hokage.

Part of that has to do with how often Sasuke visits Naruto at the tower.

“You should go make sure your genin aren’t getting into trouble before the exams,” Naruto suggests on the day before the first stage of the exams starts.

“Yeah. You can stay at work as long as you need to tonight,” Sasuke tells him. “Don’t overwork yourself.”

“Relax, bastard, I’ll be fine,” Naruto assures him, grinning.

“Hn. Then, see you later.”

“Yep!”

Sasuke leaves through the window.

Suddenly, Naruto feels a familiar presence right before Killer Bee storms straight into his office without knocking.

“Yo! How’s it going, Naruto?” Bee asks.

“Bee-sensei!” Naruto exclaims, standing up.

“I just came by ‘cuz I heard you found a sweetheart,” Bee says, looking around. “Who is it?”

“Oh, right! Do you remember Sasuke?”

“That guy who tried to capture me, oh yeah! I remember him alright,” Bee replies. “Don’t tell me he’s your lover.”

“Yeah, that’s him,” Naruto admits. “Hey, are you in town for the chunin exams?”

“You know it,” Bee says. “Seriously, Sasuke though? You sure, yo?”

“I’m sure,” Naruto responds, still smiling.

“Well, it sure ain’t conventional, but if you’re happy I won’t stop ya.”

Naruto laughs.

“Hey, Bee, do you want to go out for dinner?” he asks.

“Sure,” Bee replies. “Where we goin’, yo?”

“Ichiraku ramen!”

Naruto creates two clones and tells them to keep working for him. Then he leaves with Bee. As they walk through Konoha, people greet Naruto constantly.

“You’re quite the star, huh?” Bee asks.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Naruto replies sheepishly.

“Heh. You’re doing great, brat,” Bee says.

Naruto beams and thanks him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oooo Jiroooouu you're in troouuuubleeee

“What are you doing?” Sasuke asks, slightly alarmed.

He finally found his genin, but Jirou is asleep against the tree with Wakiya standing in front of him, holding a candle and looking scared. Ziroshi is throwing Chidori kunai at a rock.

“We’re training,” Ziroshi answers calmly.

“Wakiya, did you put Jirou under your genjutsu?”

“Yes… He told me to! He said he needed to get as good as you at releasing genjutsu,” she answers guiltily.

“End it. Now,” Sasuke orders.

She blows out the candle and Sasuke kneels in front of Jirou, worried. Someone with the Sharingan can see through genjutsu easily, but someone like Jirou… Well, he’s like Naruto when it comes to things like that.

“Jirou. Jirou, can you hear me? Are you alright?” Sasuke asks.

Jirou blinks his eyes open and slowly focuses on Sasuke.

“Sensei… I’m sorry,” Jirou says softly.

“Nevermind that, are you okay? What the hell were either of you thinking?!” Sasuke snaps.

Wakiya looks at the ground, scared. Ziroshi stops throwing kunai.

“I just wanted to get better at recognizing genjutsu… It just felt so real,” Jirou says.

“Wakiya, I strictly forbade you from using that genjutsu except when in battle,” Sasuke states.

“I’m sorry, sensei!” she squeaks.

“Don’t blame her,” Jirou tells him. “It was my fault. I told her to.”

“I don’t care why, just don’t ever do that again,” Sasuke says.

“Yes sir,” Wakiya responds.

“Sensei, how come you can break genjutsu so easily?” Jirou asks.

Sasuke looks at him.

“It’s because of my Sharingan.”

“What is that?” Jirou questions. “I know it’s a doujutsu, but what does it do? How does it work?”

“I can’t explain everything it does. I also have the Rinnegan,” Sasuke answers.

“I thought the Rinnegan was just a myth,” Wakiya says.

Sasuke closes his eyes for a second while he ties back his hair with a ribbon. He opens his eyes again and Wakiya gasps.

“It’s beautiful,” Ziroshi breathes.

“It’s dangerous,” Sasuke replies.

“Why do you keep your hair over it?” Jirou asks.

“It’s not something to show off,” Sasuke tells him.

“Oh,” Ziroshi says.

“I think you should tie your hair back more often, sensei,” Jirou claims.

“So does Naruto,” Sasuke sighs.

Jirou grins.

“Then you should! It looks really cool.”

Sasuke doesn’t respond to that.

“I came to make sure none of you were doing anything idiotic, like practicing releasing genjutsu with Wakiya’s Keika.”

He gives Wakiya and Jirou a pointed look. They hang their heads and Ziroshi snickers.

“The first round of the chunin exams starts tomorrow. You will all need a good night’s rest. I will treat you to dinner tonight,” Sasuke tells them.

“Alright!” Jirou cheers.

“Thank you, Sasuke-sensei!” Wakiya exclaims.

Sasuke smiles slightly and starts to walk back to town. His students walk with him.

“Sensei, how did you lose your arm?” Wakiya asks. “I’ve been wondering, but you never told us.”

“He told me,” Jirou boasts.

“Arrogance is not befitting of a shinobi, Jirou,” Sasuke states.

Ziroshi snickers at him while Jirou pouts.

“I lost my arm fighting Naruto at the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War.”

“Why did you fight him?” Wakiya asks.

“Hey, don’t you know?! Sasuke-sensei was a missing-nin! Of course Lord Seventh had to fight him,” Ziroshi hisses.

“That is partially true. He also fought me to break my curse of hatred,” Sasuke answers.

“What?” Ziroshi questions.

Sasuke sighs.

“Naruto and I were rivals. When we were teenagers, we learned that we are the reincarnations of a pair of brothers. The younger of them was chosen by their father to be a leader. The older was angered by that and chose a path of hatred and vengeance. A few generations later, Naruto and I were born and took on the brothers’ burdens,” he explains.

“Are you the older brother?” Ziroshi inquires.

“In a sense.”

“What made you follow a dark path, sensei?” Wakiya asks him.

Sasuke looks up at the sky.

“There were a lot of things,” he replies.

“Such as?” Ziroshi prompts.

“Guys, leave him alone,” Jirou tells them.

The girls look at him, startled.

“Alright. Sorry, sensei,” Wakiya says.

Sasuke just looks straight ahead and keeps walking.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Ramen!” Jirou answers.

“I’m alright with that too,” Wakiya says.

“Ziro-chan?” Jirou asks.

She sighs.

“Ramen’s fine.”

Sasuke rolls his eyes but continues through town until they get to Ichiraku. He recognizes Naruto’s presence and enters the shop, his genin trailing behind. Sasuke ruffles Naruto’s hair and sits down next to him, drawing his boyfriend’s attention away from his former teacher, the Hachibi’s jinchuriki.

“Sasuke!” Naruto exclaims cheerfully.

“Hn. Looks like we ended up eating dinner together anyway,” Sasuke replies as his genin come in and sit to his left.

Naruto laughs and leans into him a bit, slinging his arm around Sasuke’s shoulders.

“Old man, I’ll pay for theirs!” Naruto tells Teuchi.

“I can pay for my own students,” Sasuke replies haughtily.

“It’s our money, so it doesn’t really matter who pays,” Naruto points out.

“Hn. Alright.”

Sasuke and his disciples make their orders. Ayame and Teuchi start cooking.

“Bee-sama, I don’t think I ever apologized,” Sasuke says.

“Yo, you’d better though!” Bee responds.

Sasuke resists the temptation to roll his eyes and settles for a sigh.

“I’m sorry I tried to hunt you down for Akatsuki,” Sasuke tells him.

“Apology accepted, ya fool!” Bee replies.

“Sasuke-sensei, you did a lot of bad things a long time ago, didn’t you?” Wakiya asks, tilting her head as she looks up at her teacher.

“Yes,” Sasuke admits, staring straight ahead.

“Why did they let you return to Konoha and live a normal life again?” she questions.

Sasuke smiles slightly and looks at Naruto, who is watching him stoically. Sasuke turns and looks at Wakiya.

“It’s thanks to the Hokage,” he tells her.

She looks at Naruto and grins.

“Okay.”

Teuchi and Ayame put their meals down in front of them. Everyone starts eating.

Halfway through, Naruto turns to Sasuke.

“Hey, there’s been reports of a small group of bandits up in Iron Country. The daimyo sent us a request to take care of them. Do you think Team Uchiha can do it?” Naruto asks, smiling easily.

“After the exams, sure,” Sasuke responds. He glances at his genin. “You can handle a group of bandits, can’t you?”

“Yes sir!” they chorus.

Naruto chuckles.

“Did you train them to do that, bastard?” he asks jokingly.

“It’s your fault I’ve trained them at all.”

Naruto laughs.

“We’ve talked about this,” he says. “You agreed to take on a genin squad.”

“I did,” Sasuke concedes, tilting his head in acknowledgment.

“So I gave you the three you were least likely to fail immediately. Jirou because you already knew him, and the girls because they reminded me of you when you were younger. I thought if anyone could teach them about revenge and how destructive it can be, it’s you.”

“Hn.”

“Wait, you didn’t want genin, Sasuke-sensei?” Jirou questions.

“Not exactly.”

“Why not?” Ziroshi asks.

“I had other priorities,” Sasuke replies, monotone.

“Then, why did you take us on at all?” Wakiya inquires.

“Hn.”

“It’s not that bad, is it? I mean, you seem happy,” Naruto says anxiously.

Sasuke rolls his eyes.

“It’s fine, dobe.”

He could admit that he likes the kids, but he is still an Uchiha, and Uchihas do not express their emotions. Luckily, Naruto knows him well enough to understand what he was trying to convey.

“Good!” Naruto sighs, relieved.

“We’re not a burden, are we sensei?” Wakiya asks.

Sasuke looks at her carefully. He reaches out and pokes her forehead. She flinches slightly and rubs the spot, frowning.

“You are all becoming formidable shinobi,” Sasuke tells his students.

They look up at him, slightly baffled.

Naruto chuckles.

“That means he likes you,” he translates for them.

“Oh!” Wakiya replies happily.

“So this is where you are, little brother!” a booming voice exclaims.

A large man approaches Killer Bee, who grins.

“Ei-sama, how are you?” Naruto asks cheerfully, turning in his seat to look at the former Raikage.

“Naruto! I’m well, and you?”

“I’m great!” Naruto responds, beaming.

Sasuke hums.

“Well, if it isn’t Sasuke Uchiha,” Ei comments dryly, narrowing his eyes. “Rumor has it the two of you are together now.”

Sasuke remains silent.

“Yeah,” Naruto tells him, taking Sasuke’s hand.

“Oi, dobe, I can’t eat like this,” Sasuke points out.

“Sorry, sorry,” Naruto chuckles, withdrawing his hand.

Sasuke keeps eating.

Ei sits down next to his brother and orders a bowl of ramen.

After the Hokage, his boyfriend, and the trio of genin finish eating, Naruto and Sasuke pay and leave with the genin. They start walking back to the orphanage.

“Sensei! Do you know what the tests are going to be like?” Jirou asks.

“I couldn’t tell you even if I did.”

“Aw, come on! Then, tell us what they were like when you took them!” Jirou prompts.

“The first or the second time?” Sasuke asks.

“Huh? You had to take it twice?” Jirou inquires.

“Yeah, we both did,” Naruto answers for him.

“The first time, Orochimaru interrupted them by attacking the village,” Sasuke states.

“Were you working with him then?” Ziroshi asks.

“No. It was during the exams that he gave me a cursed seal,” Sasuke admits. “Which is what later forced me to go to him for power.”

“You know, you weren’t forced,” Naruto mutters, pouting.

Sasuke rolls his eyes.

“You weren’t exactly forced to use the Kyuubi's power either,” he retorts.

“I didn’t, usually,” Naruto responds, petulant.

“Except when any of your enemies mentioned me. Or when Pain attacked.”

“I had an excuse!” Naruto exclaims, scowling now and pointing at him.

“Oh, yeah. To get me back,” Sasuke says, rolling his eyes. “Nobody told you to do that, dobe.”

“Bastard, I did it eventually, didn’t I?” Naruto asks, getting annoyed. “We were literally caught in a cycle of reincarnation, I _did_ have to, ya know!”

Sasuke smirks.

“After we both nearly died, you did manage it.”

“We both knew what would happen if we fought seriously,” Naruto reminds him darkly.

“Yes,” Sasuke admits. “Because we are both first class shinobi.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“You could have left me alone,” Sasuke reminds him.

“You know that’s not true.”

“Hn.”

“Um, we’ll see you tomorrow, sensei!” Wakiya tells Sasuke, reminding him and Naruto that they’ve been walking with the kids this whole time.

“Yeah,” he replies. “...Good luck.”

She grins.

“Thank you!”

Then she and her teammates run off to their dorms. Naruto and Sasuke head home.

“They seem to really look up to you,” Naruto says.

“Hn.”

Naruto chuckles.

“Do you think they’ll pass?” he asks.

“Ziroshi is smart. Jirou is good at thinking quickly. Wakiya has a powerful genjutsu and all of them are determined and hardworking. Ziroshi learned Chidori in the same period of time it took me,” Sasuke says. “Jirou learned Rasengan quickly too.”

“I look forward to seeing how they do,” Naruto tells him, unlocking the door to their house.

Sasuke follows him inside and they take off their shoes and cloaks. Naruto startles suddenly and starts to put his cloak back on.

“I have to go. Gaara just came to my office. One of my clones dispersed to let me know. I’ll be back later. You don’t have to wait up,” Naruto explains while he puts his shoes back on.

Sasuke hums his acknowledgment and Naruto hurries out the door. Sasuke goes upstairs and showers. Afterwards, he puts on his robe and nothing more and sits down on their bed to read.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chuunin exams! Also, the Ōtsutsuki don't exist here.

“Gaara!” Naruto exclaims, entering his own office where the Kazekage and his siblings are waiting.

Naruto’s remaining clone disperses as well and Gaara smiles slightly. He extends his hand and Naruto shakes it.

“Welcome back to Konoha,” Naruto tells him.

“Thank you,” Gaara replies.

“How are you?” Naruto asks.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Busy,” Naruto admits with a chuckle.

“I can imagine. Putting together the first chunin exams sponsored by all five ninja villages--it’s impressive,” Gaara says.

“Heh, thanks!” Naruto responds.

“By the way, where is Sasuke?” Gaara inquires. “Did you work everything out?”

“Yeah! We’re living together now, ya know,” Naruto tells him.

Gaara smiles.

“I’m glad.”

“Wait, you knew?!” Temari exclaims.

“Naruto and I had lunch together a long time ago and he discussed this topic with me,” Gaara explains.

“My husband works with him and neither of us knew!” she says.

“We kept it quiet for a while because we weren’t sure how the council would react,” Naruto tells her.

Naruto realizes that Shikamaru avoided telling her to respect Naruto and Sasuke, and he isn’t going to betray the gesture by telling her that Shikamaru did know.

“I asked Gaara for advice,” he states.

Gaara nods his agreement.

“How did the council react?” Temari asks.

Naruto grins.

“Shikamaru and I had to convince them that Sasuke isn’t going to betray the village, and they told me not to show favoritism,” he responds.

“That’s not bad,” Gaara comments.

“No,” Naruto admits. “So, it’s good to see you! I’d take you to dinner, but I’ve already eaten.”

“It’s alright,” Gaara replies calmly. “I simply came to greet you. I will be staying with Temari and Shikamaru-san while I’m here.”

“You sure you don’t want to stay in a hotel?” Naruto offers.

“It’s fine,” Gaara tells him. “They are my family.”

Naruto grins.

“Yeah. I guess you’ll be looking forward to seeing how your nephew does in the exams, huh?” he asks.

“Yes,” Gaara says, smiling back.

“We should head home,” Temari suggests.

“Yeah, me too,” Naruto agrees. “Bye, then.”

“Goodbye,” Gaara replies.

Then he and his sister leave. Naruto creates another clone.

“Can you keep working for me? I’ll release you before I go to sleep,” Naruto tells him.

“Sure! Leave it to me,” the clone responds cheerfully.

“Thanks. I’m counting on you,” Naruto says before he goes.

~+~+~+~+~

The first two stages of the exams progress smoothly. Team Uchiha successfully passes Sai’s riddle-like test, and manage to win the game of capture the flag that acted as the second test. On the day of the third portion of the exams, they are prepared.

Naruto orders Sasuke to act as ANBU during the exams, because, “I want you by my side without people questioning it.”

Which is why Sasuke is standing by Naruto in the kage box in the stadium instead of being down in the stands. His students keep looking around for him, he notices, but only Jirou seems to realize that he’s here. However, by the time Jirou does, his battle is about to begin.

Sasuke and Naruto watch Jirou win his fight through sheer determination.

“He seems a lot like you, Naruto-san,” the Mizukage comments.

“Yeah,” Naruto agrees, smiling. “His name is Jirou Hirosuke. He’s one of the orphans Konoha took in.”

“That’s good. What country was he originally from?” the [earth kage] asks.

“The Land of Waves,” Naruto answers.

“I see,” Gaara replies.

The five kage lapse into silence again, watching the matches.

Wakiya uses Keika in hers and wins quickly. Ziroshi almost kills her opponent with Chidori kunai. Luckily, the proctor stops her. She wins her fight and her opponent is taken care of by medical shinobi.

“Your village has quite a few strong genin,” Darui, the fifth Raikage, tells Naruto.

“Yeah,” Naruto agrees. “So does yours.”

“You say that after yours nearly killed one of mine?” Darui asks, laughter in his tone.

“Ziroshi is from the Land of Wind,” Naruto states.

“Another orphan from the trafficking branch?” Gaara questions.

“Yeah.”

“That was a good idea, opening a place for them to go,” the Mizukage says.

Naruto hums in agreement.

The last stage of the chunin exams lasts two days. Once they end, all of team Uchiha passed, as well as Orochimaru’s child, Shikadai, the twins from the Land of Rain, and a few others from Konoha alone. Many genin from the other nations passed as well.

A few days later, once the visiting kage and children have returned to their homelands, Naruto is thrilled to host the promotion ceremony. Sasuke has acted as an ANBU shinobi since Naruto first told him to at the start of the third stage. He has not even removed his mask around them. Sasuke did approach them as a team after the exams and congratulated them briefly, earning a grin from Jirou and polite “thank you”s from the girls.

Now, he is standing beside Naruto in the Hokage's office, with the new Konoha chunin in front of the desk. Naruto is seated behind his desk with his hands clasped atop it. He’s smiling.

“Congratulations to all of you,” Naruto begins. “I am proud to call you Konoha chunin. Your missions will from here on be harder, and Konoha will expect more from you. After seeing how you all did during the exams, I know you’ll be up to the task. That is all.”

There is a chorus of “thank you sir”s and “yes Lord Seventh”s. Then the chunin leave, some smiling smugly, others completely grinning, and a few entirely stoic.

“Ziroshi is just like you were, after you came back,” Naruto comments once the last one leaves.

“Yes,” Sasuke agrees. “Jirou is similar to you, as well.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Naruto replies.

Sasuke steps up behind him and starts massaging Naruto’s shoulders. Naruto relaxes into the touch.

“You don’t normally do things like this,” Naruto notices. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes. You just seemed tense. Don’t overwork yourself.”

“I know,” Naruto chuckles. “Say, Sasuke, why don’t we take the weekend off?”

“Dobe. Of course,” Sasuke responds. “When do you want my team to track down those bandits?”

“Oh, right. Hm… After this weekend. I think we both deserve a break,” Naruto claims.

Sasuke rolls his eyes behind his mask but doesn’t complain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two days of school until break. Four tests in that timeframe and one presentation. :')


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :)

Four days later, Sasuke and his chunin are ready to depart at the north gates. Naruto is there to see them off at dawn.

“Remember, there are some missing-nin in the Land of Iron too, so be careful,” Naruto warns.

“Usuratonkachi. You’ve already told us,” Sasuke replies, but his tone is affectionate.

“Right. Just reminding you,” Naruto says nervously.

Sasuke smirks.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re worried,” he taunts.

“Well, I know you can handle yourself and all, but I’ve got this… bad feeling, ya know?” Naruto responds.

Sasuke rolls his eyes and lowers his voice slightly.

“I’ll be fine, dobe,” he promises. He leans in closer and adds, “And when we come home, I’ll let you take care of me any way you want.”

Naruto swats him away, scowling.

“Come on, sensei!” Wakiya calls.

Sasuke turns and realizes that his students are already setting off. He starts to follow them but Naruto pulls him back by his collar and kisses him. Sasuke looks him in the eye afterwards, startled. They usually don’t do that in public.

“Just… be careful. Come back to me,” Naruto tells him quietly, letting go of Sasuke’s cloak.

Sasuke nods solemnly. He doesn’t like that look. He turns and takes off after his students.

“The hokage does seem really nervous,” Wakiya comments.

“Yes. Be on your guard. His instincts are sharp,” Sasuke replies.

“You two normally don’t kiss in public,” Jirou comments.

“Is something wrong?” Ziroshi asks, looking up at her teacher curiously.

“What makes you think there would be something wrong?” Sasuke questions.

“Well, he seems on-edge,” Wakiya says.

“And he did something abnormal,” Ziroshi adds.

Sasuke sighs.

“Like I said, he’s concerned, so be on your guard. The Land of Iron is a place without a shinobi village. Warriors called samurai guard it. It is a neutral nation up north where five kage summits are held,” Sasuke explains. 

“Oh,” Jirou responds. “So then, why are we going to go take care of a group of bandits?”

“Why don’t the samurai do it?” Wakiya asks.

“Sometimes, smaller nations request the help of the larger nations for things like this. Depending on the bandits’ strength, the samurai might not be able to handle them alone,” Sasuke claims.

His students seem satisfied by that answer and they stop asking questions.

~+~+~+~+~

When they arrive at the border of the Land of Iron ten days later, two samurai meet them. They ask to see their forehead protectors, and as usual, inspect Sasuke’s missing-nin scratch. They ask him his name.

“I am Sasuke Uchiha, a Konoha shinobi.”

“The same Uchiha who attacked at the five kage summit when Madara declared war on the five great nations?” one of the warriors asks.

“The very same one who killed many of our comrades?” the other adds scathingly.

Sasuke looks them in the eyes.

“Yes. I returned to Konoha and mended my ways. I do not ask your forgiveness for my crimes, only passage through your land so my team and I may complete the mission the hokage has sent us here to complete,” he states calmly.

The samurai lean towards each other and talk in low voices. Eventually, they make a decision.

“Alright. You may complete your mission, but you are to leave as soon as it is over. Understood?” one of them asks.

“Yes,” Sasuke replies smoothly. “Thank you.”

He walks past them and his students follow, looking between the guards curiously.

“Sensei,” Jirou calls. “What were they talking about?”

“I came here a long time ago,” Sasuke answers.

“When you were still working for Orochimaru?” Wakiya adds.

“When I was part of Akatsuki.”

“You really attacked?” Wakiya asks.

“Yes. I killed Danzo, the temporary hokage,” Sasuke admits.

Farther behind him, he can hear the samurai talking.

“Do you think he’s really alright now?”

“Probably. One of those kids called him ‘sensei’, after all.”

“Those kids do seem like respectable shinobi.”

“Yes. They’re probably here to take care of those thieves.”

“Yeah.”

Sasuke and his team keep walking.

By the time they find a decent clearing to spend the night in, the sun has already set. They are halfway through the county. Sasuke uses a fireball to melt the snow, and his team set up their mats. They eat dinner around a fire Wakiya set up, and go to bed with Sasuke on first watch.

At midnight, he wakes Ziroshi to take his place. At daybreak, they eat breakfast and move out after they pack up. As they move through the forest, they keep an eye out for the bandits.

“Sasuke-sensei, do you know where their hideout is?” Jirou asks.

“No. They’re in this forest,” Sasuke responds.

They hear something rustle in the trees up ahead and stop. They leap out of the way as kunai come sailing towards them. The second wave has explosive tags attached and Sasuke blocks them with Susanoo, garnering an impressed exclamation from Jirou. Wakiya and Ziroshi race towards the location the traps came from and set up their combination jutsu: twin peaks storm. A diamond-shaped cloud forms between them over a young man and the cloud widens, rain pouring onto him. Ziroshi adds her lightning element to the water and the man falls, electrocuted. The girls end the technique and Sasuke ties the unconscious man to a tree. He kneels in front of him and Sasuke’s team approach. The man has brown hair that hangs down to his shoulders in ragged, thin strands.

“He must be one of the bandits. When he comes to, we’ll ask him who his companions are,” Sasuke states.

He whistles and a hawk comes sailing towards him. Sasuke writes a note and ties it to the bird’s leg before sending it off. Then he looks at his students.

“What do we do if he decides not to talk?” Ziroshi asks.

“Then we use force,” Jirou replies, drawing a kunai.

“That won’t be necessary,” Sasuke tells them, putting his hand out to block them.

They look at him but he doesn’t offer an explanation. The man starts to wake up and grins at Sasuke.

“Gotcha,” he says.

Sasuke startles and tries to leap away, but finds that his feet are bound in mud. He swears and uses electricity to break them apart. He escapes to a tree branch and looks around. The girls are together on a different branch, but Jirou is still in the mud with a woman’s kunai at his throat. The man stands up, cut free by the woman. She has curly orange hair and us quite tall. A Hidden Mist Village missing-nin forehead protector is tied on her forehead. There is also a beefy man with short black hair. The original two are wearing goggles, and the bigger man hands a pair to the first.

Sasuke tries to trap them in genjutsu and startles slightly when it doesn’t work.

“Sorry, those eyes of yours won’t work on us with these,” the woman calls.

Sasuke narrows his eyes slightly and draws his sword.

“Who are you?” he asks them.

“Oh, we’re just some silly little bandits who probably can’t stand in your league at all… but that’s why we have these goggles,” the first man states.

“Let me guess, they interrupt genjutsu?” Sasuke inquires.

“Sharp. They do,” the woman responds.

Sasuke realizes that this fight might be too dangerous for his students. He is about to order a retreat when Wakiya leaps forward. Sasuke reaches for her with Susanoo but the beefy man is faster. His arm stretches and catches her by the throat. She coughs up blood as he slams her against a tree trunk.

“Wakiya!” Sasuke shouts.

Ziroshi screams and throws an electrified kunai at the man’s arm, forcing him to release Wakiya. Ziroshi catches her. Sasuke rushes forward and starts to fight the first man and the woman. He manages to give Jirou a chance to get away, finally, and Jirou fights the beefy man with Wakiya and Ziroshi. Ziroshi and Jirou manage to get him busy enough to give Wakiya time to light a candle but even Keika doesn’t work on him. The woman escapes Sasuke and grabs Jirou by the neck. He coughs and his eyes start closing.

“My… chakra,” he croaks.

“Wakiya! Ziroshi! Don’t let her touch you!” Sasuke calls.

“Yes sir!” they reply.

Ziroshi and Wakiya are too busy fighting the big man to help Jirou. Sasuke uses Amaterasu on the thin man he is fighting and makes it to Jirou. He starts to fight the woman, who drops Jirou to prevent Sasuke from impaling her. Jirou falls to the ground from the tree branch they were fighting on, barely conscious. He tries to sit up and falls again. Sasuke grits his teeth. The thin man cuts off his own arm, the part of him that Sasuke manages to light on fire, and ties it off.

“Let’s end this,” he calls to his companions.

“I couldn’t agree more,” the woman replies.

“Wait. Don’t kill the Uchiha. We can sell his eyes and get information from him, but the other three can die,” the beefy man instructs.

The woman grins wickedly and responds, “Alright, boss.”

 _This is bad,_ Sasuke realizes. He needs to get his students out of here. The woman is still fighting Sasuke, who is growing increasingly exhausted. The big man is fighting Ziroshi and Wakiya, who are having a hard time. Jirou is still on the ground.

Sasuke throws a smoke bomb and escapes the woman. He grabs Wakiya and Ziroshi and lands on the ground with them, near Jirou.

“Go!” Sasuke instructs his students. “Go back to Konoha! I’ll deal with them.”

“Sensei!” Wakiya hisses. “That’s suicide! We can still fight.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he tells her. “You need to get out of here and get Jirou help. If you stay, you’ll only get in my way. They’re not ordinary bandits.”

“Alright,” Ziroshi responds, her eyes watering.

She helps Jirou stand by supporting half his weight. Wakiya takes his other side and the girls nod once to Sasuke before they turn and go, right before the big man comes sailing down. Sasuke disappears and reappears behind him, knocking him into the dirt. The woman starts to go after the children and Sasuke appears in front of her with his sword drawn.

“I’m your opponent!” he shouts.

“Ooh, you’re a pesky little fly. It’ll be awfully fun to drain your chakra,” she replies.

Sasuke fights the three of them as best as he can until the woman traps his arms behind his back and he feels his chakra draining. He barely lasts a few minutes before he loses too much chakra and watches the world fade to black.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rescue and proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the holidays and I left you with a cliffhanger so here have the finale a day early

When Sasuke comes to, he keeps his eyes closed and tries to focus on his surroundings. From the sounds of dripping water and the air current, he thinks they’re currently in some sort of cave. It must be their hideout. They took off his cloak and he is shivering. He listens to their voices. They seem to be standing near him, although their words are slurring weirdly in Sasuke’s ears. He manages to make out some of what they say.

“Uchiha… the Sharingan… those kids… Konoha… probably don’t have long.”

He has a hard time distinguishing who said what. Sasuke tries to open his eyes and realizes that someone blindfolded him. He struggles against the chains around his shoulders and ankles and realizes that they must be chakra-sealing.

“Oh, it looks like you’re awake,” one of them coos, voice high-pitched but male.

Sasuke recognizes it as the voice of the wiry man he tried to set on fire with Amaterasu.

Sasuke feels his breath on his face and recoils, but the chair against his back prevents him from being able to go far.

“What do you want?” he asks them.

“Oh, nothing much,” a different one says. This one is the woman. “Just some information on Konoha… and your eyes.”

Sasuke grits his teeth. This is bad. He hopes the kids can return to the village in time.

“You’ll get nothing,” he growls.

“We’ll see about that,” a deeper voice claims.

Sasuke hears heavy footsteps walking towards him and struggles against the chains again.

“It’s no use. Those suck away your chakra at the same rate it takes you to replenish it, which means you’ll stay at this level of strength until we decide to change that,” the deep voice informs him.

“Who are you?” Sasuke asks.

“Nobody of importance to you. Just a common group of mercenaries.”

“Why do you want my eyes?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb. We know their power,” the woman snaps.

“There’s a buyer on the black market who’s looking for a nice eternal mangekyo and a Rinnegan. She’s paying quite well for them, too,” the first man claims.

“Now then, before we take your eyes, we’d like to learn something about your village. Let’s begin,” the man with the deep voice says.

~+~+~+~

After the first week, Sasuke lost track of how long he has been here. They feed him only when he starts to become delirious with hunger and give him water only once he can’t speak anymore. He only gets to sleep a little while at a time, and it’s always a restless sleep. He wonders how long he is going to be here before someone finds him. Eventually, he starts to wonder if anyone is going to find him.

Sasuke’s captors keep them moving. They never stay in the same hideout for very long. Still, Sasuke refuses to give them any information on Konoha, and every time they try to remove the blindfold, he starts to create a Rinnegan portal and they have to replace it. The blindfold seals his eyes while he wears it.

Finally, after what feels like months, something happens.

“Boss, we’ve got incoming,” the woman says.

Sasuke has learned that she is a sensory-type with the ability to suck out an enemy’s chakra and use it to replenish her own or her companions’ through skin-to-skin contact.

“What is it?” the man with the deep voice, their boss, asks.

“A group of shinobi… They’re coming fast. I can sense… four… no, five of them.”

“Ready the escape routes.”

“Sir, they’re inhumanly fast. We won’t have time. We have to fight,” she says.

Sasuke chuckles.

“What’s so funny, Uchiha scum?” the man with the higher voice asks.

“You’ve made a mistake… by taking me,” Sasuke tells them, voice hoarse from disuse and dehydration.

“What do you mean?” the boss questions.

“Naruto… is coming for me… He’ll kill you all.”

“Naruto?”

“The… seventh… hokage. He’s going to find me… and he’s going to kill you,” Sasuke tells them.

“The Hokage can’t leave Konoha, especially not for a former missing-nin like you,” the woman snarls.

“Are you so sure?” Sasuke asks her, lifting his head and looking at where he thinks she is.

She doesn’t respond. Sasuke cackles.

“Boss! They’re here!” the woman exclaims.

“Hurry, tie him down. Don’t let them near him, whatever you do!”

Sasuke feels the other man and the woman drag him to the wall and chain him against it with more of those damned chakra-sucking chains. One of them ties something over his mouth so he can’t speak.

“That should do for now,” the boss says. “Let’s go.”

Sasuke rolls his head back against the wall and listens. It doesn’t take long for the sounds of battle to begin. He can sense Naruto’s chakra above, along with his students and… Sakura. He hears screams and the sounds of battle for hours until everything finally falls silent and still. He hears someone coming down the stairs, breathing raggedly. He can still sense Naruto, who is severely weakened.

“You… bastard,” he hears Naruto growl, and Sasuke exhales a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.

Sasuke feels Naruto stumble towards him and kneel down beside him. He hears the chains rattle before they fall off. Naruto takes off the gag and the blindfold last and Sasuke looks up at him, at the man he loves, battered and bruised from fighting for him, but alive and here.

“Naruto,” he calls weakly.

Naruto’s eyes fill with tears and he cups Sasuke’s jaw in his palm.

“What did they do to you?” he asks.

Sasuke shakes his head. He doesn’t have time to explain. Naruto kisses him suddenly and Sasuke forgets where they are. He forgets everything that happened to him while he has been with his captors, every threat they made. He forgets that both of them are weak and injured and he just kisses Naruto back. They break apart eventually and stare into each other’s eyes, cheeks stained with tears.

“Thank you,” Sasuke croaks.

“You bastard. You had me so worried,” Naruto scolds him, still crying.

“You’re one to talk. Shouldn’t you be in the village?” Sasuke asks.

“So should you,” Naruto retorts.

Sasuke snorts.

Someone nearby clears her throat and they turn.

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto exclaims.

“Jeez,” she sighs. “You both look like hell.”

They chuckle and she walks over to them. She kneels and starts healing their injuries.

“You’ve both lost a considerable amount of chakra and have multiple cuts and bruises. Sasuke, you have two broken ribs and three of your fingers are broken as well.”

“Sensei,” a small, worried voice says.

Sasuke looks up and sees his three students staring at him. He smiles slightly.

“This is all our fault!” Jirou exclaims. “If we had just been stronger, you could’ve--”

“Shut up. You did well. I was the one who told you to run. I’ll be fine,” Sasuke replies.

He looks over at Naruto, who grins at him.

“This is just like that time,” Sasuke says.

“Yeah,” Naruto agrees. “At least this time we weren’t fighting each other.”

Sasuke smiles and leans against him slightly, wincing at the pain in his chest.

“Don’t move,” Sakura instructs.

“Sorry,” Sasuke responds.

“You’re awfully talkative now that you’re all beat up,” Naruto tells him. “Then again, that’s just like back then too.”

Sasuke smirks.

“Well, I’ve administered first aid, but you’ll both need to visit the hospital when we return,” Sakura states.

Naruto stands up and picks Sasuke up bridal-style.

“Dobe, put me down. I can walk,” Sasuke tells him.

“Fine,” Naruto replies, setting him on his feet.

Sasuke takes two shaking steps and stumbles. Naruto catches him and Sasuke winces. Naruto picks him up again.

“I’ll carry you to a hotel and we can rest. Once you’re strong enough, I’ll let you walk on your own,” Naruto says.

“Alright,” Sasuke replies, pouting.

Sakura smiles at them and leads the way back to the surface. Naruto follows, carefully carrying Sasuke. The genin walk behind them.

“How many did you fight?” Sasuke asks.

“Hm? Three. That’s all there was, right?” Naruto questions.

“Yeah,” Sasuke responds.

“I shouldn’t have sent your team on this mission alone,” Naruto comments. “It was too dangerous. I was stupid.”

“Shut up, usuratonkachi. I’m fine,” Sasuke tells him, looking up at Naruto as he carries him through the cave and up to the surface.

“You’re not fine! That’s the point! You’re hurt and it’s all my fault,” Naruto says.

“Stop it,” Sasuke demands.

“Why should I? I was worried! You might not have come back to me. Do you have any idea how trapped I felt when Wakiya and Ziroshi walked into my office and told me what happened? I had to fight tooth and nail to leave Konoha and save you!” Naruto chides.

Sasuke smirks and leans his head against Naruto’s chest, closing his eyes halfway.

“You did, though. You saved me,” Sasuke murmurs.

“Yeah, but look at you!” Naruto exclaims.

Sasuke snorts and immediately regrets it as his ribs ache.

“Hey, hey, be careful,” Naruto tells him worriedly.

“Shut up, dobe.”

“Bastard.”

“Usuratonkachi.”

“Asshole.”

“Okay, enough flirting, we’re at a town,” Sakura tells them from up ahead in the trees.

The six of them land in the snow and walk towards the town. People stop and stare at them as they pass by. Naruto wraps Sasuke in his Hokage cloak to keep him warm. They find an inn and go inside.

“Excuse me, mister,” Naruto calls to the owner. “We’d like three rooms for a night.”

“Are you shinobi?” the man asks.

“Yes,” Naruto responds.

The man lists a price and Naruto’s jaw drops.

“Come on, mister, we’re all hurt from our mission and we need a place to rest and heal!” Naruto exclaims.

“That’s the price. You shinobi never have proper courtesy. You’re loud and destructive,” the man states.

“Alright,” Naruto grumbles.

He pays for their rooms and the manager hands him three keys. They start to head to their rooms. When they get there, Naruto lays Sasuke down gently on the mat in their room and Sasuke groans painfully. Sakura comes in and kneels down beside him. She changes his bandages and starts healing him more thoroughly.

“Naruto, you should get us something to eat,” she suggests.

“Alright.”

He stands and leaves the room. Sasuke’s team joins him in the hall.

“Lord Seventh, can we ask you something?” Wakiya asks.

“Sure,” he replies.

“When did you fall in love with Sasuke-sensei?”

Naruto stops and looks at her, startled.

“A long time ago,” he answers.

“Was it before he left the village?”

“No,” Naruto replies. “No, back then we really were just friends. It was sometime before he came home though, I know that.”

“When did you two start dating?”

Naruto chuckles.

“October 6th, the year before last. Four days before my birthday.”

“Was your first date romantic?” Ziroshi inquires.

Naruto chuckles.

“We went sparring,” he responds. “Well, actually, I guess we were at dinner at his apartment when we really decided that we were dating.”

“When did you move in together?” Jirou asks.

“A few months before the orphanage was built,” Naruto answers.

“Was it your house?” Wakiya asks.

“Yes. I lived alone in an apartment for a while, though,” Naruto admits.

“When did you two open up about your relationship?” Ziroshi inquires.

“Right about when he moved in.”

“Wow, so you kept it secret for a while then,” Jirou realizes.

“We had to. A few people found out along the way, but we didn’t want to have the council try to take him away,” Naruto claims.

“They didn’t though,” Ziroshi says.

Naruto smiles.

“No, they didn’t.”

They find a restaurant that actually serves takeout and order enough for all six of them. They head back to the hotel and gather in Naruto and Sasuke’s room.

“If you brought ramen I am going to kill you,” Sasuke threatens.

“Relax, bastard. We got soup and rice because I knew you’d want something decent,” Naruto responds, kneeling beside his lover as Jirou and Wakiya unpack the food.

Sasuke hums. Naruto looks up at Sakura, sitting on Sasuke’s other side.

“How are his injuries?”

“His ribs are going to take some time to heal, but I’ve wrapped him up. His chakra depletion is the worst part, though. It’s going to take a few weeks for his chakra levels to be back to normal. He has been starved and dehydrated too,” she lists.

Naruto grits his teeth and clenches his fists.

“Those bastards…”

“Naruto,” Sasuke says softly. “It’s fine.”

“I know. You’re alright now, but I’m still angry,” Naruto responds. “They had no right to hurt you. What did they want?”

“My eyes,” Sasuke answers, “and information on Konoha.”

“Good thing you went through the ANBU training,” Naruto mutters.

Sasuke nods his agreement and starts to sit up. Sakura helps him. Sasuke picks up the box near him and starts eating.

“Sensei, why would you go through ANBU training?” Ziroshi asks.

The older three look at the chunin. Naruto and Sasuke exchange a glance.

“You aren’t supposed to know this because of village secrecy and everything, but Sasuke is ANBU,” Naruto states.

“I already knew. You were standing by the Hokage during the Chunin exams, right?” Jirou asks.

Sasuke nods.

Wakiya and Ziroshi’s eyes widen.

“So you were there! You did watch us!” Wakiya exclaims.

“Of course,” Sasuke replies. “I wouldn’t have missed it.”

“But, why were you acting as an ANBU during the exams?” Ziroshi inquires.

“I wanted him by my side,” Naruto replies. “It would have been strange if he hadn’t been acting as an ANBU shinobi then.”

The girls nod and start eating.

When all of them finish, Jirou throws out the take-out boxes and comes back into the room to kneel with the others around Sasuke.

“Sorry to make you go through all this trouble,” Sasuke mutters.

“Don’t worry about it, bastard,” Naruto tells him gently, taking his hand and smiling.

Sasuke looks him in the eye and smiles back softly.

“Okay, I think it’s time I hit the hay,” Sakura exclaims abruptly. “You too, kids. Let’s leave these two lovebirds alone.”

Jirou snickers and the four of them stand and start to leave.

“Have fun!” Wakiya calls on her way out the door, waving.

“No, that’s a bad idea, Sasuke is not healed enough yet!” Sakura retorts, swatting her hand down.

“Don’t worry, Sakura-chan, we know,” Naruto assures her.

She stops in the doorway and smiles at them, putting a hand on her hip.

“Right,” she replies with a nod. “Goodnight.”

She leaves, closing the door behind her. Naruto stands up and takes off his jacket and mesh undershirt. His shoes are already by the door and Sasuke is still using his cloak as a blanket. Naruto rolls out his mat beside him and lies down, facing him with a blanket over himself. Sasuke looks back at him.

“Are you really okay?” Naruto asks quietly.

Sasuke smirks.

“Quit worrying, I’m fine,” he assures his boyfriend.

Naruto frowns and takes his hand again.

“Sasuke, I never want you to leave my side again,” he claims.

“I feel the same,” Sasuke replies calmly.

“So, um… When we get home, will you… That is, would you like to marry me?” Naruto asks hopefully.

Sasuke’s eyes widen and his lips part slightly in surprise. Naruto bites his lip while he waits for a response, frowning slightly. Eventually, Sasuke closes his eyes and mouth for a moment and smirks. When he opens his eyes again, they are soft.

“I never liked your last name anyway. Uchiha is much better,” he responds.

Naruto freezes for a second. Then his face fills with joy, and a tear falls from the corner of his eye. Alarmed, Sasuke wipes it away and asks him what’s wrong.

“I’m just… I’m so happy, Sasuke!” Naruto tells him.

Then he giggles. Sasuke chuckles as much as his broken ribs allow and he kisses Naruto’s nose.

“I love you,” Sasuke says.

Naruto beams at him.

“I love you too!” he replies.

Sasuke smiles, feeling the happiest he has in a long time. Naruto keeps beaming back at him. The door opens and they turn, smiles fading a little but not much. Sakura freezes, eyes wide.

“What… Why are you two…?”

“We’re getting married!” Naruto tells her blissfully.

Sasuke’s smile widens and he looks at Naruto again.

“O-okay. Congratulations, but um… Is that legal? Can two men marry in Konoha?” Sakura asks.

Naruto’s smile falls and fades to an expression of shock. Then he sits up and grins.

“If not, I’ll change that,” he tells her.

Sakura blinks. Then she smiles.

“I just came back to grab my vest,” she tells them, picking it up from the floor. “Sleep well, you two.”

“Thanks,” Naruto replies.

She gives them both one last glance before she leaves again, and they turn back towards each other, smiling until they fall asleep.


	22. Timeline of Events

**Year One**  
October 3rd: They go out for drinks and plan to go sparring  
October 4th: Sasuke asks for another mission and they confess; Naruto eats dinner at Sasuke's and they kiss  
October 6th: Sparring session  
October 7th: Shikamaru invites Sasuke to Naruto's party  
October 9th: Naruto's birthday party  
October 10th: Naruto's birthday and Sasuke confronts him about a hickey; Hinata goes to lunch with Naruto  
October 11th: Team leaves for elimination mission and Naruto opens gifts  
October 13th: Black market organization meeting  
October 14th: Gaara and Naruto eat lunch together  
October 15th: Sasuke and the team return; their first time  
October 16th: Sasuke starts his ANBU training; Naruto goes on a date with Sakura and tells her  
October 17th: Naruto works late and falls asleep in the office  
October 18th: Naruto's secretary finds out  
October 21st: Sasuke stops being monitored by the ANBU; Shikamaru finds out  
October 25th: Sasuke leaves for intel mission  
November 8th: Naruto eats lunch with the girls and tells them; then he buys a house  
November 18th: Naruto moves into his new house  
November 19th: Naruto hosts dinner  
November 22nd: Naruto gets a letter saying Sasuke's on his way home  
November 25th: Sasuke returns  
November 26th: Sasuke visits Naruto's new house for the first time  
November 27th: Sasuke wakes up in Naruto's bed; Shikamaru sees Naruto's hickey; Kakashi finds out  
December 31st: Naruto gives Sasuke a bouquet and takes him to see the fireworks after dinner

 **Year Two**  
January 1st: Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru meet with the daimyo and council  
January 3rd: Sasuke moves in with Naruto  
January 6th: Sasuke and Naruto have their friends over  
January 8th: Construction begins on the Uchiha compound  
February 2nd: Naruto reveals the reconstructed Uchiha Orphanage to Sasuke  
February 3rd: Naruto opens the orphanage  
March 3rd: Rescued children arrive and move in; Naruto meets Jirou; Sasuke realizes he's in love with Naruto  
March 7th: Orphans want to get into the academy  
April 5th: Genin teams assigned  
June 20th: Naruto and Sasuke host dinner with all of their other friends who are couples  
September 2nd: Academy classes start  
September 30th: Jirou comes over for dinner

 **Year Three**  
April 5th: Sasuke gets his genin team  
April 6th: Sasuke tests his genin  
April 7th: Team Uchiha receives their first mission  
April 9th: Team Uchiha's second mission  
April 10th: Wakiya and Ziroshi come to Sasuke's house to tell him why they want to be shinobi now  
April 30th: Team Uchiha starts getting properly trained  
May 3rd: Team Uchiha can climb trees  
May 27th: Sasuke tests his genin's progress and tells them about Naruto and himself some more  
May 28th: Smut and genin training with the Hokage  
July 11th: Sasuke catches his genin training with Keika, they go out for ramen, and Gaara comes to Konoha  
July 12th: Chunin exams start  
July 15th: Chunin exams end  
July 16th: Promotion ceremony  
July 20th: Team Uchiha departs on their mission to track down a gang  
August 1st: Team Uchiha arrives at the border to the Land of Iron  
August 2nd: Team Uchiha is attacked by the bandits  
August 3rd: Sasuke wakes up, restrained and weak  
August 10th: Sasuke starts to lose track of time  
September 2nd: Sasuke is found  
September 3rd: Naruto, Ziroshi, and Wakiya depart for Konoha  
September 17th: Sasuke, Jirou, and Sakura set out  
September 26th: Sasuke returns to the village with Naruto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End


End file.
